Private sector in the Dominican Republic loses 268,528 formal jobs in five months
The number of private-sector workers listed in the Social Security Treasury (TSS) decreased by 17% from March to August of this year in a scenario marked by a socioeconomic and health crisis caused by the Coronavirus pandemic.
This means that 268,528 formal private jobs have been lost, as the figure went from 1,587,920 in March to 1,319,392 as of August 31.
When considering the private sector’s work and the public sector, the fall in employment is 12.8%, 289,193 fewer workers. According to the TSS statistics, as of March 31, there were 2,250,140 workers registered in social security and 1,960,947 workers as of August 31.
In that period, jobs in the centralized public sector fell 2%, 6,786 less, from 340,764 in March to 333,978 in August. And jobs in the decentralized public industry fell 4.3% from 321,456 to 307,577 in the mentioned period.
When evaluating the data on an inter-annual basis, in August 2020, there were 1,960,947 workers registered in social security, a figure that is 12.5% lower (-280,501) than that reported in the same month of 2019, which were 2,241,448.
On the other hand, in the five months that the country has faced the COVID pandemic, the number of employers or employers registered in the TSS decreased 2.8%, 2,514 less. As of March 31, 2020, there were 87,335 employers, and as of August 31 of this year, 84,821.
While from August 2020 to August 2019, employers have decreased by 5.89%, about 5,312 less.
MSMEs affected. 95.51% of all employers have between 1 and 50 registered workers. The number of registered employers in the range of 16-50 workers decreased by 2,412. Those with a range between 1-15 workers declined by 1,931 in relation to 2019; that is, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises have had the most significant loss of registered employers.
TSS collections are affected. Not only has employment been affected in these months of the pandemic, but also with this, TSS collections fell 3.32% in August 2020. But in April, it decreased by 2.47%; in May 10.38%; in June 10.32%, and in July 6.22% less.
As of August 31, the TSS had collected RD $ 10,072 million, and from January to August, these revenues were RD $ 80,723 million, an increase of 0.93%, compared to the same period in 2020. During the current year, 616,392 notifications have been collected.
Workers’ wages. The percentage of workers contributing to Social Security who receive salary income below RD $ 10,001 is 15.76% (309,103). Unlike the same period for 2019, which was 31.49% in the same salary range, according to Figures as of August 31 of the percentage of workers contributing to Social Security registered in the Single Information and Collection System (SUIR) of the TSS.
With salaries between RD $ 10,001- RD $ 15,000 there are 708,532, 36.13% of the total; With salaries between RD $ 15,001- RD $ 20,000, there are 320,918 employees, 16.37% of the total; With salaries between RD $ 20,001- RD $ 25,000 there are 126,584 workers, 6.46% and with salaries of more than RD $ 25,000 there are 495,810 workers, 25.28%.