Labor Day: San Pedro Sula has 138 thousand people without jobs

Known as the industrial city, San Pedro Sula, in Cortés, It is perceived as one of the main drivers of the Honduran economy and the favorite place to find employment; However, more than 138 thousand Sampedranos are unemployed or work for a salary that forces them to live in precarious conditions.

The Permanent Survey of Multiple Purpose Households 2025, prepared by the National Institute of Statistics (INE), indicates that this municipality has a workforce made up of 327,240 residents. Of these, 311,886 are employed and 15,354 are unemployed.

The unemployment rate is 4.7%, that is, it is below the national figure, which reaches 4.9%, since 211,015 unemployed people were counted.

In Honduras, the labor force—previously known as the Economically Active Population—was 4.2 million people by 2025, of which 4,075,415 already had an occupation. The problem is that 1.6 million (equivalent to 41.4%) were in the category of underemployed with, in many cases, precarious jobs.

Youth are the ones who have had the most difficulty finding work in the labor market. Of the 211 thousand unemployed, 45% are young people between 19 and 29 years old, that is, 95,205 people.

On the other hand, the population segment that most secured its job were those who were between 36 and 59 years old, that is, 1.6 million workers.

Underemployment is the problem that most afflicts the people of San Pedro, who daily look for different ways to earn their daily bread, the majority entering the informal economy in order to get ahead honestly.

The INE reported that 123,474 people in San Pedro Sula were part of the underemployed, a figure eight times higher than the 15,000 unemployed.

Underemployment has two categories. There are those who are underemployed due to insufficient time to be able to work, made up of people who work less than 40 hours a week, but who would like to have more time to work. In this category there are 22,908 people in San Pedro Sula, representing a rate of 7.3%.

The other type of underemployment is that in which even though people work 40 hours or more a week, their monthly income is less than the average monthly minimum wage, according to the economic category to which they belong.

This underemployment is the one that has hit the inhabitants of San Pedro Sula the most, where until 2025 there were 100,556 people in this condition. Of these, 73,149 are men and 50,326 women, with rates of 41.2% and 37.5% respectively.

Underemployment due to low income has affected SPS men the most, with 62,067 which translates into a rate of 34.9%. In the case of women, 38,500 were reported in this condition, reflecting a rate of 28.79%.

In contrast, underemployment due to lack of time to work is greater in women. 38,500 were counted under this employment status, equivalent to a rate of 8.8%. Regarding men, the rate is 6.2% with 11,082 people of this sex.

Although the previous government of the former president Xiomara Castro announced that the unemployment rate in the country fell to 4.9%, some sectors remain skeptical about this statement.

Data in San Pedro Sula show that 57% of the employed population are men (177,726) and 43% are women (134,160). Regarding unemployment, this affects women more, with 8,312 (54%) without work, while in the case of men, 7,041 (46%) were reported.

Furthermore, the INE study establishes that the unemployment rate for women is 5.8%, higher than the rate for men, which is 3.8%.

These gender gaps are not very different at the national level, since the unemployment rate for men is 3.7%, while the rate for women amounts to 6.8%.

Maria is one of them. He has been searching insistently for a job for six years, without finding it. She doesn’t just see those within her profession but any option that allows her to bring some food home.

“I send a resume, but they don’t call me. I keep applying,” the 35-year-old, who has a degree and is a law student, told LA PRENSA Premium.

In her house the only one who worked was her husband, but a month ago he was fired. “This month I have seen the goodness of God because fortunately we have not lacked anything at home; we have gone out to a limited extent,” he commented.

The former president of Honduran College of Economist (CHE), Liliana Castillo, pointed out that the decrease in the unemployment rate does not fully mean that many people stopped being unemployed and managed to obtain decent employment.

He considered that due to the high levels of underemployment, many people went from being unemployed to being underemployed, holding precarious jobs that barely allow them to survive.

“What is increasing the most is precarious employment and we know that precarious employment barely gives them enough to survive. This precarious employment is not going to get them out of poverty,” he pointed out.

It should be noted that in Honduras underemployment is 1.6 million inhabitants, of which 1.3 million are underemployed due to insufficient income and 327 thousand due to insufficient time.

Another factor that Castillo does not rule out is that there may be a labor drain as a result of many Hondurans going abroad looking for better life opportunities that their native country does not offer.

He also criticized that the different governments in power only use as a propaganda campaign banner the speech that they will generate thousands of jobs, but that in the end the amount they promise does not materialize.

He recalled that many sources of work vanished during the covid-19 pandemic due to health restrictions and since then, local investment and investment from other countries has not been the same. “Since there is not enough national or foreign investment, there is no generation of decent jobs,” he added.

He also criticized that the different governments in power only use as a propaganda campaign banner the speech that they will generate thousands of jobs, but that in the end the amount they promise does not materialize.

He recalled that many sources of work vanished during the covid-19 pandemic due to health restrictions and since then, local investment and investment from other countries has not been the same. “Since there is not enough national or foreign investment, there is no generation of decent jobs,” he added.

Karim Qubain, president of the Cortés Chamber of Commerce and Industries (CCIC), recognized that to address the problem of unemployment and the informal economy, challenges such as cumbersome bureaucratic procedures, high operating costs, lack of investment, difficulties in obtaining financing and lack of opportunities must be resolved.

“Many people are not in the informal sector because they want to, but because they cannot find another alternative,” he said, considering that at the same time there is a disconnection between education and the needs of the current labor market.

On the other hand, the economist indicated that unfortunately a part of the business community takes advantage of the urgent need for employment of thousands of Hondurans to offer them pyrrhic salaries instead of offering decent jobs.

“Well-trained boys arrive, sometimes with their university degree, sometimes they are offered 10,000 lempiras. For them it would already be a precarious job,” he said.

However, he admitted that MSMEs have difficulty meeting high salaries due to the tax burden they must comply with and their operating costs, which is why he suggested that this sector should receive more support from the government.

Low income compared to the high cost of living makes it difficult for the population to develop, to the point of even limiting basic needs such as food.

“This loss in the purchasing power of the working class that it has at this moment does not even allow it to bring three meals to the worker’s table,” Josué Orellana, vice president of the Confederation of Workers of Honduras (CHT), expressed in the television forum “Frente a Frente”.

According to the INE, public employees in San Pedro Sula receive an average income of 20,441 thousand lempiras per month, while those in the private sector receive an average of 14,373 and the self-employed 11,587. In the case of domestic workers, apprentices and independent contractors, their average income does not even reach 10 thousand lempiras.

62% of the employed population in San Pedro Sula are private sector employeeswith more than 192,539 people working in this sector. This trend not only occurs in this municipality, but throughout the country, since more than two million people work in private companies.

Followed by employees in the private sector, independent or self-employed workers appear as the most abundant in the labor market. In San Pedro Sula there are more than 76 thousand independent workers (24.4% of the employed population). Likewise, independent contractors have been gaining ground, with 12,537 (4%).

Part of this segment also tends to be people who decided to start a business. Qubain sees the growth of entrepreneurship as a positive sign, since it can grow and translate into the consolidation of companies that generate employment.

“Every small business that is born can become an employment-generating company tomorrow. Supporting entrepreneurs means opening opportunities, strengthening the local economy and reducing dependence on traditional employment,” he stated.

On the other hand, the contribution of sources of employment by the public sector is minimal. By 2025, 11,728 bureaucrats would be registered, constituting just 3.8% of those employed in San Pedro Sula.

In part, this is influenced by the fact that most public institutions are concentrated in the capital, Central District. Furthermore, it is not ruled out that this figure will be lower in 2026 following the determination of the government of Nasry Asfura on eliminating, suppressing and merging some state entities to cut public spending.

There are also 10 thousand domestic workers. These range from housekeepers, butlers, motorists, nannies, gardeners, cleaning people, laundresses (at home) and other workers who provide their services for a particular home. To a lesser extent, 519 apprentices are registered, such as masonry assistants, automotive painting and other trades.

The president of the CCIC emphasized that Honduras must generate a climate of trust to attract foreign investment and promote national investment.

To achieve this, it is necessary to guarantee legal security, invest in infrastructure, simplify procedures, modernize institutions and promote public policies that encourage production and competitiveness. Likewise, the government, private sector, academia and civil society must be involved.

In the specific case of Cortés, he highlighted that this department has advantages to continue growing economically. Among these privileges, the strategic location, the connection with international markets and the productive capacity of its population stood out.

“We see great opportunities in advanced manufacturing, agribusiness, logistics, commerce, construction, business tourism, technology, business services and the digital economy,” he said.

Beyond conveying confidence to investors, jobs and decent salaries must be ensured that allow the population to develop.

“We must take care of that company that provides the money to generate jobs, but we also need conscious entrepreneurs, who also recognize that a worker must be very well compensated not only for subsistence issues, but so that the company becomes more productive and generates much more profit,” urged Josué Orellana.

Qubain concluded that “decent employment transforms lives, strengthens families and brings stability to the country. That must be a national priority.”