The lead article in the economic section of Hoy newspaper today, Thursday 28 November, reports that nearly 600,000 informal jobs have been created over the past 13 years, nearly twice the number of formal jobs. This, in turn, pushed the informal sector to contribute 3% more to the nation’s economy, going from 52.7 to 55.7%. These figures were produced by the Regional Center for Sustainable Economic Strategies (CREES) using Central Bank data. The report says that formal jobs have increased by 21% over the last 13 years while informal jobs, some 2.22 million, increased by 37% over the same period. The study also found that as of April 2013, over 700,000 people were unemployed, an increase of 18% from the 2008 levels. Based on the findings of the study, CREES believes there should be more flexibility in the job market.