All About The Latin American Job Market
As the world comes closer and closer to becoming a "global village", workers from all corners of the globe are continuously looking for employment and business opportunities across borders. More people are also going overseas to study. In recent times, a lot of attention has been shifted to Central and South America and Latin America in particular. For instance, a small company recently started doing business in Latin America to lease printers.
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What You Need to Know About Latin America
The region has a total land mass measuring 19.197 million square kilometers. It is home to over 650 million people speaking different languages. Spanish is the most widely spoken language in Latin America, but Portuguese is also popular. Latin America enjoys a rich history and is considered one of the fastest-growing regions in the world.
Largest Cities
Mexico City, Mexico, and Sao Paolo, Brazil, are the two largest cities in Latin America. Each of these cities is home to around 25 million people. Other major cities in the region include; Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Bogota, Lima, Santiago, Belo Herizonte, Guadalaraja and Monterey.
Religion
The vast majority of people in Latin America are Christians, with a small native population that has not yet converted to Christianity. Catholics account for around 65% of the Christians while protestants account for around 26%.
Ethnicity
Latin America is ethnically and racially diverse with large populations from Europe, Africa, and Asia. The Europeans migrated to South America in pursuit of the large tracts of arable land while the Africans and Asians were brought to South America as slaves. The interaction of diverse cultures and populations has given rise to a rich culture that has become a key tourist attraction.
Age Distribution
Around two-thirds of the Latin American population comprises individuals between the ages of 14 and 64 years. This is a healthy and strong working population. This means that there is a vibrant workforce in Latin America. However, there are still many job opportunities for expats. For instance, the United Nations and other international organizations usually recruit staff from all parts of the world.
The Job Market in Latin America
In the year 2021, the average unemployment rate in Latin America was 9.96%. However, most of the employment opportunities were in the informal sector. The International Labour Organization estimated that 70% of employment opportunities created in Latin America in recent months were in the informal sector. The COVID-19 pandemic created an economic crisis in Latin America that saw millions of people lose their jobs. During this period, the number of job opportunities created was negligible.
The ILO considers the high unemployment rate, lack of quality jobs, income inequality, and informality of jobs a major crisis. What was more worrying to the ILO is the fact that jobs that were formal pre-pandemic have now become informal.
The good news is that the Latin American job market is bouncing back fast and is expected to create many more jobs shortly. More informal jobs are also expected to become formal as the economy continues to recover.