By the second quarter of 2020, 9% of companies in the country expect to increase their payrolls, which is less than the 10% recorded in the same period in 2018.
Panamanian employers report moderate hiring plans for the second quarter of 2020, with 9% of employers expecting an increase in their workforce, 10% anticipating a decrease and 76% remaining unchanged, resulting in a Net Employment Trend of -1%, reported Manpower.
The report states that “… Employers in three of the four regions expect to reduce their workforces during the next quarter. Employers in Panama City report weaker hiring plans, with a -2% Net Employment Trend, while Trends in Colon and West are at -1%, on the other hand, employers in Central Provinces anticipate some hiring, reporting a +7% Trend.
By the second quarter of 2020, employers expect to reduce their workforces in four of the six sectors. The slowest pace of hiring is expected in Manufacturing, where the Net Employment Trend is at -6%. Weak Trends are reported in Construction and Agriculture, Fishing, Mining & Extraction, with -4% and -3%, respectively, while the Trade Trend is at -2%. On the other hand, Communications & Transport employers anticipate a weak labor market, reporting a 0% Trend, while Services employers expect some increases in their workforce, reporting a +7% Trend.
Employers in two of the four organization sizes expect to increase their workforces during the next quarters. The Net Employment Trend of +6% is reported by Medium-sized companies, while a Trend of +4% is reported by Large companies. However, Small and Micro companies expect to reduce their workforce, reporting Trends of -3% and -2%, respectively.”
See full report (in Spanish).
I think this report missed the corona Virus effect, Currently, things are at about 90% laid off and I know that a lot are never coming back. My guess is the 2nd quarter is well over 20% unemployment and 3 rd quarter could be 30% unemployment in Panama. Lets see how this pans out but many small businesses are already gone closed and not coming back