There are currently 551,373 Costa Ricans without work: 282,000 men and 269,000 women. These are the latest figures from the National Statistics and Census Bureau (INEC), and indicate that the country has reached a 24% unemployment rate, the highest in the most recent years of Costa Rica’s history.

These figures represent an increase of 256,000 more unemployed people from the previous year, and indicate a dramatic increase, especially for women. It is predicted that the unemployment figures may even continue to rise further.
The COVID-19 crisis has of course exacerbated the unemployment situation, with its impact being most strongly felt in certain sectors. According to INEC, “The sectors that during this trimester registered the strongest impact on unemployment due to the pandemic were: businesses related to repairs, transportation, food service, hotels, restaurants, personal services, construction, and smaller businesses related to these industries.”

Women were more strongly impacted, with a 6.2% decrease in employment, as compared with a 4.6% decrease for men. Those working less than 40 hours a week were also affected, with their unemployment rates increasing by 20%. This includes those under-employed or currently seeking employment.Independent workers and those self-employed are also being impacted economically. Of those working in their own business, 13.4% have been forced to close or dramatically reduce hours due to COVID restrictions.

Many industries have managed to pivot and adapt to the new situation, with an increase in sales on the internet of 6.2%, an increase in in-home services of 28.3%, and a growth in special deals and home deliveries of 11.4%. Yet over 500,000 workers remain unemployed, an increase from 2019 of 12% to 24% in 2020.

The Costa Rican government is encouraging those without work to avail themselves of opportunities in the agricultural arena, harvesting crops, particularly coffee, pineapple, sugarcane, watermelon, oranges, and potatoes. These are jobs often taken by Nicaraguans, who are increasingly being prohibited from working in Costa Rica due to lax mitigation of COVID-19 in their country. The government predicts that crops may end up rotting in the fields, and remind workers that there are some 77,000 jobs available in agriculture currently.

The Minister of Labor and Social Security, Geannina Dinarte, explained, “Due to the COVID crisis, there are labor opportunities which people should now explore. Both the agricultural and tech fields are hiring. There are 77,000 jobs available for harvesting crops.” She went on to point out that the high unemployment numbers were a direct result of the economic contraction caused by the COVID-19 pandemic ravaging businesses worldwide.

Knowing that workers everywhere are suffering due to the coronavirus is not much of a comfort to Ticos struggling to pay rent, electric and put food on their family’s table during these difficult times

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