economy

Continued economic growth predicted through 2010

The consulting and financial services firm Indesa estimates that public and private investment in Panama, both domestic and foreign, will exceed $20 billion between 2008 and 2010. And that figure does not include investments in the former Howard military base or various large real estate projects already underway, according to economist Guillermo Chapman, who spoke about economic growth in Panama at a recent forum sponsored by Indesa.

“Although deacceleration in the United State will affect the growth of exports, domestic consumption and investment will compensate for this deacceleration and give a strong boost to the growth of the gross domestic product until 2010,” Chapman said.

The investment of more than $20 billion in projects such as the Puerto Armuelles refinery and the construction of a third set of locks on the Panama Canal should translate into more jobs and better salaries.

The Ministerio de Economía y Finanzas (MEF) predicts that if current macroeconomic trends continue, the unemployment rate will decrease to 4 percent in the next two years. “That's practically full employment,” said Aristides Hernández, the president de LatinConsulting.

But where will the qualified workers come from? There is already a shortage of well-trained and experienced personnel in Panama, particularly in the construction and tourism sectors. Perhaps the moment has come to revise immigration policy, Indesa has suggested, in order to satisfy the labor demands for so many important projects.

Panama just went through a major reconstruction of its immigration policy.