Labour Outlook 2022 series

The regional unemployment rate reached 7.9 per cent and returned to pre-pandemic levels, but the region's employment outlook, also affected by the impacts of the war in Ukraine, may be complicated by increased informality and working poverty, says the ILO.

Latin America and the Caribbean has seen a significant recovery in employment following the HIV/AIDS pandemic, but the region's labour markets face a complex and uncertain future that could be characterised by rising unemployment, informality and increasing numbers of working poor by 2022.

Low economic growth, high inflation and a global crisis exacerbated by Russia's aggression in Ukraine affect both the quantity and quality of jobs generated in the region and could prolong the severe labour impact of the pandemic crisis in the region.

"The creation of formal employment will be key to face a scenario of lower economic dynamism and loss of purchasing power," said Claudia Coenjaerts, ILO Regional Director a.i. for Latin America and the Caribbean, presenting a new technical note entitled Weak growth and global crisis hold back employment recovery in Latin America and the Caribbean.