INEC data reveal that 54% of youth employment is informal. René Quevedo, a labor market expert, points out that many graduate and do not find a job in their profession.
Unemployment is a problem that hits young people hard. According to data from the National Institute of Statistics and Census, 113,347 Young people between 15 and 29 years old are unemployed, that is, they do not have formal employment.
Of this number of people, 52,064 are between 20 and 24 years oldmany recent college graduates or with some type of secondary education. While among the 25 and 29 years of age, the unemployed total 40,905 people.
Youth unemployment has increased in recent years, going from a rate of 17.8% in October 2024 to 19.9% in September 2025. The incidence is higher among women with an unemployment rate of 25.4%, compared to the unemployment rate of 16.5% for men.
René Quevedo, labor market expert and business advisor, indicates that young people are 23% of the workers and half of the unemployed in the country, also contributing 55% of the new unemployed generated in those 11 months.
“So far this century, the Panamanian State has invested more than $44 billion in education. However, the alienation of our young people from the labor market is a structural and systematic phenomenon, which tends to worsen, which is why it is urgent to measure the magnitude and extent of the problem objectively,” says Quevedo.
Cost of living grows four times more than salaries in Panama between 2019 and 2025
He explained that two decades ago, young people represented 1 in every 4 new jobs generated by the Panamanian economy.
Today, the panorama is reversed: for every 10 jobs created, 3 young people lose their jobsevidencing a process of growing exclusion from the labor market, Quevedo warns.
It details that in 2025, although more than 70 thousand jobsat least 5 thousand young people lost their jobs and others 8 thousand began looking for employment without successwhich confirms that economic growth is not benefiting this population.
Labor market specialist, René Quevedo, warns that this trend responds to a structural problem. He points out that young people represent the 23% of the labor force, but they account for nearly half of unemploymentwhich shows a disconnection between education, economy and investment.
What worries young people about employment
Besides, 54% of youth employment is informaland those who manage to enter the formal market earn on average $815 monthlywhile only the 13% access professional positions with salaries greater than $1,000.
Economist Luis Morán said that it is worrying that youth unemployment doubles the national average unemployment, which is 10.4%.
“In the diagnosis of the labor market, among young people we observe a low labor supply for this population group, and the need to link education and work to promote insertion, as well as the more than necessary connection that must exist with universities, to promote digital skills, which the market needs.”, he stated.
The economist Luis Moran warns that one of the main challenges is to generate real opportunities for young people, especially in the field of entrepreneurship.
Point out that Many continue to enter saturated and highly competitive traditional sectors, which limits their growth possibilities.
It raises the need to guide new generations towards areas with greater potential such as logistics, rural and sports tourism, agribusiness and creative industries, considered strategic for the economic development of the country.
The economist insists that Options for young people must be expanded and dual training strengthened, opportunity entrepreneurship promoted and a true link between business and academia consolidated.
In his opinion, without a real job offer from the private sector, training efforts are insufficient. It warns that this disconnection could aggravate youth unemployment and increase pressure on state subsidies, if it is not possible to promote the sustainable generation of employment and entrepreneurship in the new generations.
