Unemployment in Ecuador: 6.2% in September 2020; 4.9% in September 2021

The National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INEC) published the National Survey of Employment, Unemployment and Underemployment (ENEMDU) and established significant statistical differences in the percentages of adequate employment and unemployment, between September 2020 and September 2021.

The adequate employment rate for September 2020 is 30.8% and for September 2021 it is 33.5%. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate as of September 2020 is 6.2% and in September 2021 it is 4.9%.

The underemployment rate in September 2020 was 24.4% and in September 2021, 22.7%; of “other non-full employment” was 26.2% in September 2020 and 27.6% in September of this year.

Finally, the unpaid employment rate was 11.8% in September 2020 and 10.8% in September 2021.

After several processes of methodological adjustments that make it impossible to compare, for example, the statistical data for the second and third quarters of this year, the INEC re-published, after seven months, the quarterly statistics of the five main cities in the country.

Thus, among Quito, Guayaquil, Cuenca, Ambato and Machala, Quito continues to be the city with the highest unemployment rate with 11.5% in the third quarter of this year (July, August, September). Guayaquil with 4.3%, Cuenca with 7.6%, Machala with 8.1% and Ambato with 6.3%.

More than 110,000 people went into underemployment in Ecuador, according to INEC figures

Regarding adequate employment in the third quarter of this year: Quito has 45.6%, Guayaquil with 44.6%, Cuenca with 52.9%, Machala 43.5% and Ambato with 38.7%.

Roberto Castillo, director of the INEC, said that the vaccination plan has achieved the reactivation of the economy and that explains the statistics.

In addition, he explained that the monthly unemployment level in May was 6.3%, which meant approximately 538,000 unemployed people; in September, the figure closed at 4.9%, which represents approximately 412,000 unemployed people. The variation between May and September is 125,000 fewer people in unemployment.

Meanwhile, adequate employment, between May and June, the number of people with adequate employment increased by 275,000, of these new people with adequate employment, 125,000 in May were unemployed and the 150,000 that would be needed to reach 275,000 are people who in May They had a job but earned less than minimum wage and now they have a job but earn more than $ 400. (I)