Guatemala Jobs Diagnostic

Andreas Eberhard-Ruiz

No 32968716, Jobs Group Papers, Notes, and Guides from The World Bank

Abstract: Building back better’ has become a popular theme guiding the world’s post-Covid19 recovery efforts; in few middle-income countries this appears to be more pressing than in Guatemala. Over a decade of lackluster growth and stagnating productivity improvements have led to an acute shortage of quality jobs, the effects of which started to show well before the Covid19 pandemic. By applying the World Bank’s jobs diagnostics methodology and drawing on both micro- and macro-level data covering the period 2004–18, this report casts light on Guatemala’s most pressing structural jobs challenges. The report first documents Guatemala’s labor market symptoms, including high levels of informality, declining labor earnings, low female labor force participation, rising emigration, and limited internal migration. The symptoms are then analyzed in-depth to identify what drives Guatemala’s poor labor market performance. The report finds that insufficient formal job creation, a lacking dynamism in the formal sector, and low quality education in rural areas are key drivers of Guatemala’s labor market outcomes. The report concludes by proposing a set of key strategic priorities to unleash Guatemala’s jobs potential.

Keywords: Labor Market; census data; complete primary education; female labor force participation; higher level of education; average per capita income; labor force participation rate; annual per capita income; low labor force participation; purchasing power parity term; per capita income growth; hourly earnings; source income; labor market outcome; source of income; formal sector; demand for labor; labor market indicator; labor force survey; returns to schooling; quality of education; participation of woman; labor market characteristic; internal labor mobility; number of workers; gross national income; international poverty line; return to education; labor force data; net job creation; working-age population; headcount poverty rate; Social Safety Nets; labor market changes; human development outcome; household labor supply; distribution of household; households with income; employment in industry; differences in participation; foreign direct investment; millennium challenge; consumer price index; labor market performance; international migrant outflow; educated young people; supply of skill; supply of labor; lack of opportunity; labor market need; better-educated worker; labor market development; low female participation; indicator and benchmarking; number of jobs; urban rural area; private sector credit; public administration sector; Junior Professional; low unemployment rate; distribution of workers; increase in labor; unpaid family worker; demand for worker; million people; decline in productivity; poverty reduction effort; wage employment; value added; labor income; labor earning; paying job; internal migration; population census; comparator country; guatemalan quetzal; national account; demographic dividend; inward migration; Public Utilities; working age; Population Projection; spatial difference; geographic domains; outward migration; Demographic Transition; informal sector; dependency ratio; jobs diagnostic; labor productivity; agriculture sector; employment share; productivity differential; human capital; business service; dependency rate; Education Quality; new job; construction sector; productivity growth; increased investment; dependent population; labor demand; education attainment; clinical picture; household income; firm size; regional disparity; metropolitan area; high share (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 78
Date: 2021-04-01
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