It is not surprising that with a sub 5% unemployment rate and a growth rate of over 8% on average, Panama is suffering from a shortage of skilled labor.

Panama is near the top of the list of countries where there is the most acute shortage of skilled labor. Guatemala and Costa Rica are located in the middle of the table.  In the Canal country, 47% of employers said they have difficulties in filling jobs with the right people. In Guatemala this percentage is 36%, and in Costa Rica it is 35%.

The Manpower report identifies the key strategies cited by respondents, to overcome the problem:

Employers were asked what strategies they implemented in order to overcome the difficulty of filling positions. Responses varied widely, from providing additional training to current staff and improving compensation to forming partnerships with educational institutions in order to provide candidates with the essential skills that organizations cannot provide alone. However their answers clearly pointed to a need for solutions to help them close the skills disabling specific efforts to promote their organizations. In addition, the percentage of employers who have adopted three main strategies to overcome the problems of lack of talent, increased from last year and suggests that more companies have not started doing anything, because of the crisis.