During the release of the labor market bulletin, the Regional Labor Market Observatory (Ormet) analyzed the recent figures published by the National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE). The data corresponding to the February-April 2024 mobile quarter reveal that Santa Marta registered an unemployment rate of 9.6%, placing it below the national average of 11.1% in the 23 main cities of Colombia.
Despite this decline in the unemployment rate, the overall participation rate has also experienced a reduction. This phenomenon suggests the presence of other unidentified sources of job creation, which the observatory has undertaken to monitor. This situation indicates that many people, especially young people, are no longer actively looking for work.
Jaime Morón, technical secretary of Ormet and director of the Gace research group at the University of Magdalena, says that the observatory is committed to researching and understanding the reasons behind this behavior, and to working on strategies to reverse this trend. Likewise, periodic reports will be published to keep the community informed about changes and trends in the labor market in the region.
However, Santa Marta continues to be one of the main cities with the greatest informality, occupying sixth place, above Sincelejo, Valledupar, Cúcuta, Riohacha and Montería. According to the labor market bulletin, “of every 100 people who work, approximately 59 do so informally”, which shows one of the main employability challenges facing the city.
For the district’s Secretary of Economic Development and Competitiveness, Carlos José Jaramillo Ríos, the situation of the Santa Marta labor market is an opportunity to invest in public policies around informality. As he explained, his portfolio invests in the District Formalization Route, one of the goals established in the Santa Marta 500 Más Development Plan.
Likewise, he indicated that the Secretariat of Economic Development and Competitiveness is advancing in the District Entrepreneurship Route, whose objective is “to generate more decent and formal jobs, in direct relationship with the direction of our mayor Carlos Pinedo Cuello, who has guided us to create more employment and greater opportunities for the Samarians towards 500 years.
The team from the Secretariat of Economic Development and Competitiveness, the Santa Marta Chamber of Commerce, the Ormet, interns from the University of Magdalena, ProSanta Marta, researchers from the research centers of the Sergio Arboleda University, participated in the work table. Unad and Cajamag, and representatives of the ‘Santa Marta Como Vamos’ program.
The meeting concluded with a renewed commitment between the institutions and key actors of the city to continue working towards economic development and the reduction of informality in Santa Marta. The progress made was highlighted and new goals were established to continue improving the quality of life of the inhabitants.
