The crash plan will be in effect for one year. The youth unemployment rate is almost 10 points above the national average.
The National Government announced a program for the generation of youth employment that will begin on July 1. It consists of a subsidy equivalent to 25% of the monthly minimum wage (around $ 227,000) in order to promote the formal hiring of young people between 18 and 28 years of age.
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According to the Government, the amount is “practically the costs of social security.” The measures of this “shock plan” will be in force for one year, “while the Congress of the Republic and other sectors will extend this program over time, for the well-being of young people in our country,” he says. the government statement.
It is worth remembering that young people, mainly women, have traditionally been the population most affected by unemployment, a situation that has worsened during the pandemic. According to the most recent DANE figure, youth unemployment in Colombia reached almost 24% in the January-March 2021 period, compared to a national rate of 14.2% for the month of March. The unemployment rate for young men is 18.5% compared to 31.3% for women (almost double).
President Iván Duque stressed that this decision was made taking into account “the need to provide opportunities, especially in these moments of the pandemic affecting so many young people who want to have that first job opportunity and who need to have it for their well-being and that of your families”.
