Labour Trends in Latin America and the Caribbean in the Current Crisis (2008–2016)

Abstract

This article reviews the recent growth period in Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries up to the current crisis, to provide an assessment of trends observed in the world of labour. Our assessment includes demographic trends, the employment structure, trends in unemployment and wages and the trajectory of social, racial and gender inequalities. We argue that the LAC region has undergone significant structural changes due to shifting positions in the international division of labour. The rural exodus has persisted, but also the industrialization patterns of the past have given way to renewed emphasis on primary goods exports, as well as new specialization patterns which favour low paying jobs in services or industries of the ‘maquila’ type. The informal, or low productivity, sector has also expanded. The economic boom of the 2000s had some positive distributional effects, but made limited inroads into the established racial and gender hierarchies, which found expression in persisting super-exploitation and extreme levels of violence and mass incarceration.