Most working youth earn less than $600 a month

Most young people who work earn less than $600 a month, according to a survey by The Institute of National Studies (Iden) of the University of Panama.

Social research Young people between the ages of 18 and 30 took part in it and found that 41.6% only work, 22.7% only study, 23.2% work and study, and 12.5% ​​neither work nor study.

Of the total number working, 55.8% reported earning less than $600 per month.

The average wage in Panama is $727, while the average minimum wage is $600, which reflects job insecurity that harms the youngest in a society where the cost of living is increasing.

Consequently, it is more difficult for this age group to establish a home, as reflected in the study, because More than 50% still live with their parents.

According to the latest household survey conducted by the National Institute of Statistics and Census (Inec), For every 100 unemployed, 54 of them are between 15 and 29 years old.

This indicator recorded a similar figure when the last household survey was conducted, in April 2022, while in October 2021, it was 49.2%.

Another piece of information from the Iden study is that 52.3% of the respondents stated that they had completed high schoolwhile 29.4% already have a bachelor’s degree.

If the research was conducted on young people aged 18 and over, the fact that only slightly more than half declared that they had completed high school is worrying, which shows that There is a high rate that did not complete it.

Mónica Romero, professor and researcher at Idenhe highlighted the social value of the project because “it is important to know the characteristics of Panamanian millennials, since this group makes up 20% of the country, according to the 2023 national population and housing census, and their participation is crucial for creating policies that favor youth development.”

He The study was funded by the National Secretariat for Science and Technology (Senacyt) . The evaluated sample consisted of 384 young people from all provinces, and the research began in 2018 and lasted 49 months.