A  SHORTAGE of  labor, with poor education standardS an additional   stumbling  block,  is putting a brake on development in Panama.

In job fairs convened by the State over the last two years only 35% of the job offers by companies were able to be filled.

Companies have to invest time and money in order to cover the limitations of graduates of the public education system, which is putting a brake on development says a CentralAmericaData report"

Through the 27 job fairs convened by the Ministry of Labor and Workforce Development (Mitradel) in the last two years, 72,320 jobs were offered, however from this total, 25,312 people joined the labor market, only 35% of the vacancies offered by the private sector.
According to analysts of labor issues, the explanation is that many people who attend these job fairs convened by the State did not have a good enough education or enough years of experience in the labor market.

Poor academic preparation falls particularly on young people, whose lack of work experience makes access to employment  even more difficult. Figures from the Panama Comptroller indicate that   between 2009 and 2015, young people got only 1 out of every 16 new permanent jobs generated by the economy.