Cuba: Aging Workforce and Informal Employment

Characterized by an aging workforce, structural imbalances, and informal employment. Cuba has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the region: 1.7%, with a slight female predominance and higher rates among younger populations.

This was stated by Juan Carlos Alfonso Fraga, deputy head of the National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI). When presenting the results of the 2024 National Employment Survey at a press conference. He also specified that approximately 50% of the population aged 15 and over is part of that workforce. While the rest are outside it for reasons such as education, retirement, disability, or other conditions.

Alfonso Fraga explained that 52.1% of the employed population is aging, and in line with this trend. There is a decline in the state sector and an increase in the non-state or private sector.

For his part, Joel Granda Dihigo, deputy director of the Center for Population and Development Studies at ONEI. Argued that the highest employment rate is only found in the provinces of Havana, Santiago de Cuba, Holguin, Granma, and Villa Clara.

He also added that more than three-quarters of the working population have advanced educational levels. Including higher education, intermediate technical education, and pre-university education. Also which is a favorable factor for the development of human capital.

Regarding occupational categories, Granda Dihigo highlighted that the highest percentages are found among service workers and professionals, scientists, and intellectuals.

The ONEI Deputy Director emphasized that one of the new indicators is the presence of 20.1% of employed people in the informal sector, which is defined as “work for pay or profit, lacking links to Social Security, depending on whether they are owners or employees, both within and outside the informal sector.”

Alonso Fraga noted that, within the non-state sector, 58.5% of informal workers are self-employed. “And if we include those hired for other private jobs or households, then seven out of ten workers in this sector are informal.”

With information from Cubadebate

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