Despite less poverty, there are 181 million without resources for basic needs

Although Latin America and the Caribbean poverty and extreme poverty fell to pre-pandemic levels, 181 million people lack sufficient resources to cover their basic needs, the ECLAC.

The Economic Commission for Latin America indicated in its report “Social Panorama of Latin America and the Caribbean 2023” that the growth rate of the Gross Domestic Product estimated for this year is 1.7%, much lower than the 3.8% in 2022, which “does not allow us to foresee new improvements in poverty.”

José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, executive secretary of the ECLAC, specified that the poverty rate last year was 29%, which represents 181 million people. Meanwhile, extreme poverty stood at 11.2%, the equivalent of 70 million people.

According to the study, almost a third of the population lives in poverty, a percentage that rises to 42.5% in the case of children and adolescents. “a reality that we cannot tolerate.”

“The incidence of poverty is also higher among women, the indigenous population and people living in rural areas,” the report added.

The study, focused on the labor inclusionindicated that job creation in the region between 2014 and 2023 “It has been the lowest since the 1950s” and specified that during the pandemic it decreased by 8.2%.

In the case of migrants, the situation usually leads them to operate on the margins of labor markets “and that makes them vulnerable to exploitation” labor, Salazar-Xirinachs said.

Regarding the labor universe, the report specified that of the 292 million employed people in the region, “one in two is in informal jobs, (and) close to a fifth lives in poverty.”

He added that four out of 10 “They have incomes below the minimum wage and half do not contribute to pension systems.”

Regarding income inequality, the document said that although in 2022 it decreased to levels lower than those recorded in 2019, “This is still very high.”

ECLAC specified that in the region the highest decile “receives an income that is equivalent to 21 times that of the lowest income decile” and added that in 2021 the wealth of only 105 people represented almost 9% of the regional GDP.

“The region remains mired in a double structural trap of low growth and high levels of poverty and inequality,” highlighted Salazar-Xirinachs, who added that the countries “They must move from job insertion to job inclusion, the axis of inclusive social development.”

Regarding the gender gap, the report indicated that during 2022 the labor participation rate of men was 74.5%, while that of women was 51.9%. This gap was also recorded in the unemployment rates: that of women was 8.6% compared to 5.8% of men.

“Labor inclusion is key to combating poverty, reducing informality and inequality and moving towards inclusive social development”stated ECLAC.