Furthermore, so far this year, 74% of HR specialists report having already made layoffs. Cost reduction and insufficient performance are the main reasons. After Peru, Ecuador follows with a projected reduction of 37%, Argentina with 30%, Chile with 29% and Panama with 25%.
According to the Salarios y Contrataciones study by Bumeran, the leading employment portal in Latin America, which analyzes the perception of Human Resources experts about the labor market in the first semester and their projections for the rest of the year, 41% of Resources specialists Humans in Peru plans to reduce the workforce during the remainder of 2024. On the other hand, 44% anticipate keeping it unchanged, while 15% plan to increase it.
At the regional level, Peru leads the projection of layoffs, being the country where the largest number of Human Resources experts plan to reduce the workforce of their organizations in the second half of the year. Ecuador follows with a projected reduction of 37%, Argentina with 30%, Chile with 29% and Panama with 25%.
How much do you plan to increase the workforce? 71% of Human Resources professionals plan to add between 20% and less than 10% of talent to their organization's workforce. Regarding workforce reduction, 27% anticipate a reduction of less than 10%, 24% plan a 20% reduction and 14% anticipate a 10% reduction.
Salaries and Hiring is a Bumeran study in which 4,187 workers and Human Resources specialists from Peru, Argentina, Chile, Ecuador and Panama participated. The research explores the perception of talents and Human Resources specialists regarding government measures applied to the labor market, the evolution of salaries and hiring in the first semester and their projection for the rest of 2024.
In more than 70% of Peruvian organizations there have been layoffs so far this year
So far in 2024, 74% of Human Resources specialists report having made layoffs. At the regional level, this percentage is one of the highest, along with that registered in Chile with 77%. Ecuador follows with 69%, Panama with 67% and Argentina with 65%.
What percentage of talents were laid off? 50% of experts fired between 10% and 30%, while 34% of experts indicated they had fired less than 10%. Regarding the reasons that motivated the layoffs, 41% mentioned cost reduction; another 41% cited insufficient staff performance; and 31% pointed out the impact of economic activity.
More than half of the organizations evaluate the impact of government measures on the world of work as “regular”
55% of Human Resources specialists consider that government policies in the workplace are regular. Furthermore, 49% of these experts foresee a regular evolution of the labor market for the second half of the year.
Regarding the government's new labor policies, 45% of experts rate them as average, 40% consider them bad or very bad, and 15% evaluate them as good. None of the professionals classified them as “excellent.”
Regarding the impact that these policies had, 55% of specialists consider that it has been regular so far; 35% evaluate it as negative; and only 10% see it positively.
What is the experts' projection for the second half of the year? 49% believe that there will be a regular evolution of the market; 31% foresee a positive scenario; and 29%, negative.
“The perception of Human Resources specialists follows a clear trend: they consider government policies and their impact on the labor market as regular. For the rest of the year, they do not anticipate changes and maintain the same perception. On the other hand, workers have a mostly unfavorable view of these same measures,” explains Miguel Bechara, Commercial Director at Bumeran Perú.
Only 16% of HR experts H H. plans a salary increase for the remainder of the year
What will happen to salaries in Peru? Only 16% of Human Resources specialists plan to increase salaries in the remainder of 2024, compared to 84% who do not foresee a salary increase in their organization. This percentage increase is the lowest in the region. Chile follows, with 19%; Panama, with 24%; and Ecuador, with 45%. Argentina stands out for being the country with the highest intention to increase salaries in the last six months of the year, with 67%.
Regarding the type of increase they plan to implement, 50% consider both a real increase and an inflation update; 33% mention a real increase; and 17% indicate that it will be an inflation update.
How much do you plan to increase salaries? 33% cite a 10% increase, 25% project an increase of less than 10%, and another 25% plan a 20% increase.
More than 50% of Peruvian talents negatively value the government's labor policies
Unlike Human Resources specialists, the majority of working people, 51%, negatively value government policies related to the world of work; 41% consider them regular; and 8% evaluate them positively.
Regarding the impact that government policies had on the world of work, 52% of talents consider that so far it has been negative; while 41% rate it as regular; and 6% as positive.
Salaries and hiring: how was the first semester for talents?
73% of working people say they have not experienced a salary increase so far this year, while 27% express the opposite. At the regional level, the trend is repeated: in Panama, 79% of talents did not experience any increase in their salary; in Chile, 75%; and in Ecuador, 83%. In Argentina, only 35% received a raise.
Among those who received a salary increase, 71% mention that it was a real increase; 18% indicate that it was an inflation update; and 11% indicate that it was for both reasons.
Regarding promotions, 84% of workers claim to have had none this year, a trend very similar to that of the region. In Ecuador, Panama and Argentina, the percentage is the same at 93%; and in Chile, 92% confirm it.
Regarding layoffs, 76% of talent affirm that they have occurred in their organizations so far this year, while 24% have not experienced it.
They did not change jobs, but they want to: 87% of talents were looking for a new job
71% of working people say they have not changed jobs so far this year, while 29% have. However, 87% of talents declared they had looked for a new job.
