President Luis Abinader highlighted historic employment levels and a growing formal labor market in the Dominican Republic today, citing figures from the Central Bank’s National Continuous Labor Force Survey.
Speaking under the slogan “More work, better future,” during the 26 May 2025 press conference, Abinader announced that as of the first quarter of 2025, the country has reached 5.1 million people employed, with 2.3 million in formal jobs (46.6%) and 2.8 million in informal work (53.4%). This represents a net increase of 176,581 new jobs compared to the same period in 2024.
He emphasized a consistent trend of job creation, with an average annual growth of 102,000 new formal sector jobs over the past 4.5 years.
Notably, female labor force participation reached a historic high of 50.6% in May 2025, surpassing 50% for the first time. Overall employment rates also hit a record high of 62.8% during the same period.
The President highlighted significant progress in reducing unemployment, which stood at 4.9% in the first quarter of 2025, down from 10.8% in 2019.
Minimum wage increases were announced for several sectors:
• Free trade zones: A 66% increase since 2020, including a 13% hike effective 1 June 2025, and a further 12% rise in June 2026, bringing the minimum wage to RD 20,875.
• Tourism: A 30% increase for hotel workers, with 15% taking effect on 1 June 2025, and another 15% in June 2026.
• Restaurants and bars: A 25% increase, with 13% starting 1 June 2025, and an additional 12% in June 2026.
• Private non-sectorized companies: A 20% increase, with 12% implemented in April 2025 and the remaining 8% scheduled for February 2026.
The government also reported a decline in poverty rates. The overall poverty rate for the first quarter of 2025 was 18.05%, down 0.85 percentage points from the same period in 2024. Moderate poverty decreased to 15.89% (down 0.51 points), while extreme poverty fell to 2.17% (down 0.34 points).
Read more:
Presidency
DR1 News
27 May 2025