Employment in the provinces grows more than in Lima, but with lower wages

Employment in Peru has already exceeded pre-pandemic levels this year, but not in the most appropriate way, warns a report from consulting firm Macroconsult.

As noted, Positions it is now proposed, both formally and informally, to register lower real wages.

In terms of official employment, Macroconsult points out that it is growing more in the urban areas of the provinces than in Lima.

“It can be concluded that in Lima there is a decline in labor marketdue to the lack of employment dynamism, both full-time and formal,” said Elmer Kuba, an economist and partner at Macroconsult.

The data shows that formal employment, which grew by 4.4% in the first quarter of the year, made more progress in the public sector, but the recovery is highly patchy across sectors.

However, in the case of employment informal, for the first three months of the year, an increase of 10.7% is calculated. This shows that informal employment is the driving force behind the total employment data.

Similarly, employment in the provinces is estimated to have grown by 6.7% over the period, while growth in Lima was only 1.5%.

Which sector has more formal employment?

The highest growth in formal employment is in the agricultural sector, which grew by 33.5%, accounting for only 13% of formal employment.

The industry with the highest weight in job creation is Services, with 48% formal work, but this is practically stagnant with a minimum advance of 0.09%. This explains why there is a feeling that there is no employment.

How much have wages dropped?

Monthly real wages in the formal sector fell by 4.7% in April compared to what was recorded in 2019.

Until April of this year, it is assumed that income workers in the private sector was around S$2,689, down from the pre-pandemic S$2,862 per month.

“In other words, formal jobs have grown, but at the expense of the fact that the average real wage in this sector has fallen by 4.7%,” commented Elmer Cuba.

salary the average monthly number of formal employees exceeded pre-pandemic levels only in the electricity and manufacturing sectors, in all other areas it is below what was recorded in 2019.

In addition, it is noted that the average monthly real family income by area of ​​residence continues to remain below the pre-pandemic level. In Lima alone, they fell by 17% in 2021.