Some chains in the export sector grew in jobs in 2021, others kept them

In total, 356,725 people, 4.1% of the economically active population of Ecuador, were unemployed in December 2021, which placed the unemployment rate at the end of last year at 5.2%, according to the National Employment Survey , Unemployment and Underemployment (Enemdu), published by the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INEC).

At the end of 2020, the indicator was slightly lower and stood at 5%, pushed by a slight recovery in the last months of the year due to the reactivation of various economic sectors.

However, that year, employment associated with the export sector increased in contrast to the contraction of employment in the economy in general.

Women lost more full employment positions than men in January 2022, according to INEC

According to a report from the Ecuadorian Federation of Exporters (Fedexpor)in 2020 the total economy reduced the number of workers by 104,000 jobs compared to 2019, while the number of workers associated with the export sector increased by 133,000 Job positions.

In recent years, employment associated with the export sector has increased its share of total employment. In 2020 it represented 20% of all jobs, 2% more than in 2019.

In 2021, despite the fact that official statistics have not yet been released in this regard, Xavier Rosero, Executive Vice President of Fedexpor, indicated that several export sectors reached record figures for foreign sales that can consolidate these important growths seen in 2020, which was due to the fact that the process of reactivating domestic consumption in the country was less dynamic than the growth in demand for exports, as explained by the expert.

“The export sector, by generating the foreign exchange that becomes internal liquidity for other activities in Ecuador, was consolidated as a real and tangible alternative to underpin economic growth and the recovery of jobs in the country,” said the vice president. Fedexpor executive.

Meanwhile, last year, the case of shrimp, which closed with $5,323 million, 39% more in foreign currency and 23% more in volume; increased 10,000 new direct jobs after expanding its workforce in shrimp pools, processing plants and other links in the chain, according to what was indicated José Antonio Camposano, president of the National Chamber of Aquaculture (CNA).

Non-oil exports grew 10% in 2020 despite the pandemic

Camposano, who is also executive president of the Corporation of Exporters Guilds of Ecuador (Cordex), highlighted that not only the shrimp sector has had an exceptional development in 2021.

“It is the effort of the export sector to expand its workforce in the different links of the production chain of each product despite the lack of competitiveness in relation to other countries in the region,” said the leader, who pointed out that the sector represented by Cordex implies around 733,500 direct jobs and an area of ​​1,341,388 hectares of production, among these are bananas, cocoa, fishing, coffee, broccoli, and others.

In the case of the banana and plantain sector, the second export product with $3,485 million, despite the decrease of 5% in foreign currency and 3% in volume exported the previous year, in 2021 they did not reduce jobs and maintained 250,000 direct jobs and 25,000 indirect jobs in the sector.

so assured Richard Salazar, executive director of the Banana Marketing and Export Association (Acorbanec), who pointed out that 2021 was very complicated, in general, due to the increase in costs both in production and export of bananas, due to the increase in agricultural inputs, cardboard, shipping freight and other items, as well as the payment for the price of bananas each time lower, which had an impact on this reduction in exports.

“There was no increase, but there was no reduction either, since although it is true that many farms were affected phytosanitary, which reduced their production, new plantings were also incorporated that balanced the balance,” explained Salazar, who stressed that the export sector also maintained more than 60 destinations to which they export the fruit.

Another sector that did not grow in employment, but kept those it had since 2020 intact was fishing.

Bruno Leone, president of the National Chamber of Fisheriespointed out that last year the sector grew in its exports by 13.6%, due to the good installed capacity on land and regarding vessels

“I don’t think we’ve grown in personnel, but we definitely haven’t laid off anyone,” Leone said, adding that the fishing sector represents approximately 108,000 jobs, which would reach nearly 200,000 if the artisanal sector is included.

Regarding the expectations for 2022, Salazar projects a more complicated 2022, because, according to him, the same problems of 2021 remain, aggravated by the fact that international buyers pay much less for the fruit this year, and there is also less production in what so far this year compared to the previous year, which is already reflected in a lower export of bananas in January 2022 compared to January 2021, by 10% less, which is likely to affect employment in the banana industry.

Camposano also finds it difficult to talk about an increase in employment in 2022.

“We are experiencing serious logistical and economic problems and are now at risk of armed conflict. Additionally, those pending in terms of competitiveness have not yet been addressed. At the moment the objective is to take care of the employment created to date”, he maintained.

$ 797 million stopped placing the Ecuadorian export sector in 2021 due to the increase in maritime freight

Rosero agreed with the other leaders by pointing out that 2022 is a year that accumulates problems.

He cited, for example, the increase in the basic salary that has a greater impact on agricultural, fishing and agro-industrial activities; the tax surcharges that still weigh heavily on the cost structure of exporting companies, as well as the reduction in logistics availability to transport our products that has raised freight rates and that may compromise the ability to continue expanding the generation of jobs in the sector exporter.

“We believe that it is urgent and fundamental to discuss and address a profound labor reform that adapts and modernizes the contractual regulation to the cycles and production dynamics of the sectors, eliminating rigidities, distortions and excesses of the current regulations that have shown an inability to respond to facilitate the creation of new jobs,” he said.