The International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLAC) warned in a joint report that even though the region shows signs of post-Covid recovery, it still experiences low job quality, increasing poverty and inequality.

The report said: “Growth projections for the economies of Latin America and the Caribbean point to a modest advance of 1.2% in 2023, a scenario that, coupled with relatively high inflation rates, will harm workers, since they will have to work in jobs of worrisome quality.”

Three years after the start of Covid-19, employment indicators across the region returned to 2019 levels.

The rebound turns out to be greater among women than men, and among young people than among adults.

According to the report, women and young people continue to face rising levels of inequality and returning to pre-pandemic levels of employment would still leave many workers trailing behind.

ECLAC and the ILO warn that the economic and employment outlook for the region will make workers more vulnerable, who will have less social protection and will be employed in less productive sectors.

They argue that without a shift in economic and employment policies there is likely to be an increase in poverty and inequality in the region.

This situation raised inflation in most economies with 8.6% levels in June 2022 and 6.5% at the end of the year.

To address such a situation, both entities urged for promoting policies that encourage investment, innovation, increased productivity and macro-financial stability.

pll/oda/ebr