Dominican Republic’s Informal Employment at 54.7%

  • Informal employment in the Dominican Republic accounts for approximately 54.7%, according to the Regional Competitive Bulletin published on Wednesday by the Honduran Council of Private Enterprise (Cohep).
  • The bulletin also states that Honduras ranks second in Central America, with the highest informal employment rate, at 82.6%, behind only Guatemala. The report reveals that Guatemala tops the list with an informality rate of 83.2%, followed by Honduras. In contrast, countries such as Costa Rica (37.4%) and the Dominican Republic (54.7%) have considerably lower levels.
  • Meanwhile, El Salvador has an informality rate of 66.5%, Nicaragua 63.0%, and Panama 58.7%, the document detailed. Informal employment remains one of the main obstacles to productivity in the region, the bulletin notes, while warning that millions of workers are forced to resort to this type of employment due to the lack of opportunities in the formal economy.
  • This situation exacerbates the levels of vulnerability and precariousness associated with employment, and restricts access to fundamental rights, including social protection, decent working conditions, and job security.
  • In countries like Honduras and Guatemala, 8 out of 10 workers are in the informal sector. This doesn’t happen by choice; it happens due to a lack of real opportunities, and changing this reality must be a priority in our public policies, noted Alejandro Kaffati, Economic Policy Officer at Cohep, the leading private sector umbrella organisation in Honduras.
  • In 2024, Central America and the Dominican Republic reached a combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $498Bn, representing a growth of 2.8%, according to data from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).
  • Kaffati also emphasised that countries like Honduras, El Salvador, and Nicaragua contributed only between 4% and 7% of the region’s total GDP, which, in his opinion, “forces” countries to focus on how to boost economies from within. In addition to the individual impact, COHEP warns that informality affects the entire economy, reducing public revenues, limiting the state’s ability to address social needs, and limiting the sustainability of formal businesses.

(Source: Dominican Today)