The net labour participation rate in Costa Rica stood at 54.3% between March and May 2026, a decline of 1.3 points year-on-year. Women experienced the largest drop, with a reduction of 1.9 points.
The Costa Rican workforce decreased during the March-May 2026 quarter, according to the Continuous Employment Survey published by the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INEC). The net participation rate fell to 54.3%, which is 1.3 percentage points lower than in the same period the previous year. This data reflects that 78,000 more people joined the population outside the workforce, which now totals 1.96 million.
The report details that the total workforce reached 2.33 million people, of which 1.42 million are men and 912,000 are women. Although the overall figure does not vary significantly compared to 2025, the composition reveals a persistent gap: the male participation rate is 66.0%, compared to 42.5% for women. Furthermore, the most pronounced year-on-year decline is among women, with a reduction of 1.9 percentage points.
Unemployment remains stable but informality remains high
The unemployment rate remained at 6.7%, equivalent to about 155,000 unemployed people. By gender, unemployment affects 6% of men and 7.6% of women, with no statistically significant changes compared to the previous year. National employment stood at 50.7%, with 2.18 million people working.
Of the total employed, 1.62 million are salaried (74.5%), while 542,000 work independently and about 13,000 are unpaid assistants. The quality of employment remains a challenge: 819,000 people work informally, representing 37.6% of the employed. Of these, 517,000 are men and 303,000 are women. 83.9% of self-employed workers are in informal situations, compared to 22.3% of salaried workers.
Women are the most affected by leaving the labour market
The increase in the population outside the labour force was concentrated among women: 55,000 of the 78,000 new inactive individuals are women. The female non-participation rate rose by 1.9 percentage points, reaching 57.5%. Among men, the non-participation rate is 34%.
The main reasons for being outside the labour market are family obligations (28.3%), old age or retirement (27.8%), studies or travel (21%), illness or disability (10.8%), and lack of desire to work (12.1%). 97.3% of the inactive individuals reported being unavailable for work, suggesting structural barriers rather than mere preference.
For companies seeking talent in Costa Rica, this data indicates a contraction in the available labour supply, especially for women. The combination of low participation and high informality poses challenges for productivity and economic growth in the medium term. INEC will continue to publish quarterly survey results, which will allow monitoring the evolution of the Costa Rican labour market.
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