Recession continues to take toll on job market and companies.(Venezuela's economic conditions)(Brief Article)

CARACAS -- A study by the Fedecamaras business federation has found that more than 700,000 people in the manufacturing, trade and construction sectors that have been laid off since 1998 have still not found jobs. Although the study found that the economy grew last year and during the first quarter of 2001, many of the people in those three sectors, which employ 46% of the workforce, have been unable to find work and remain unemployed or are working in the informal economy where they do not pay taxes or receive employee benefits. In addition, the study found that between 5,000 and 7,000 companies have closed over the last two and a half years, one of the main reasons that unemployed workers cannot find work. The study also found that the recovery of the economy has been led by state spending which has generated few permanent jobs, rather than by private investment.

Print Get the Mag Weekly Updates