THE ECONOMY

Panama continues to create jobs

11-22-2008 | MARIJULIA PUJOL LLOYD

mpujolstar@laestrella.com.pa

Unemployment continues to fall as construction, tourism and service industries bring more Panamanians into the work force

Panama Star PANAMA. The rate of unemployment up to August of this year in Panama went down to 5. 6 percent in sharp contrast to what has been happening in the United States and Europe.

According to the Republic Comptroller, Carlos Vallarino this is due to the constant economic development that the country has experienced over the last few years.

Vallarino said that new work opportunities have been generated by the construction sector, commerce in general, transport and communications. These industries have created thousands of jobs in less than five years.

Over the last five years Panama has managed to attract big multinationals such as Caterpillar, Hewlett-Packard Company and 3M, that have decided to open call centers and factories in the country taking advantage of the tax incentives that the government is currently offering.

The construction sector has also fueled employment with the construction of megaprojects such as the widening of the Canal, the development of the former Howard base and the numerous apartment buildings within the capital city and other parts of the country.

According to Vallarino, the province of Panama has the highest concentration of economically active population with 53.6 percent.

There was also a rise in the number of people 15 years old and over participating in the labor market which grew from 62.7 percent to 63.9 percent.

Currently around 1.422 million people are employed, representing a work force with 65,336 more people than last year.

Bearing in mind the present global financial crisis, Panama is doing remarkably well, although there has been some decrease in the Canal Traffic and the real estate sector is beginning to show signs of slowing down.

Commerce was the activity that created the most employment in Colon, Chiriqui and Panama, while agriculture did particularly well in Bocas del Toro.

The province of Herrera has been developing the tourism sector by opening new hotels and restaurants taking advantage of the increase number of visitors that are coming to the area.

In the province of Panama the highest number of jobs were generated by the construction, transport, storage and communication sectors, while in Colon the biggest employment provider was the manufacturing industry.

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CANAL TRAFFIC DECREASES

Bearing in mind the global financial crisis, Panama is doing relatively well.

Total transits through the Panama Canal only registered a slight decline during fiscal year 2008, which ended in September, according to the Panama Canal Authority’s statistics.

The Canal registered a total of 309.6 million of CPSUAB tons (the Universal System for Ship Surveying in Panama Canal, a volume measurement), compared to the 312.9 million tons from the previous year.

Despite the 1.1 percent decrease, the Canal had record revenues of $2 billion dollars.

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EMPLOYMENT

There has been a rise in the number of people 15 years old and over participating in the labor market. From 62.7 percent last year, participation grew from 62.7% to 63.9 % in the last year.

Currently around 1.4 million people are employed.

The work force has 65,336 more people than last year.