The loss results from the combination of the creation of 90,000 jobs in urban areas and the loss of 148,000 jobs in rural areas, the HCP said in its note on the labor market situation in Q1-2022.

By type of employment, 98,000 unpaid jobs were lost, including 80,000 in rural areas and 18,000 in urban areas, said the same source, adding that wage employment has increased by 40,000 positions, following the creation of 108,000 jobs in urban areas and the loss of 68,000 jobs in rural areas.

Regarding the activity rate, it has declined, at the national level, by one point to 44.5% between Q1-2021 and Q1-2022.

This decline is the result of a 1% decrease in the labor force and a 1.4% increase in the population of working age (15 years and older).

The decline in the activity rate is more marked in rural areas (-1.8 points to 49.3%) than in urban areas (-0.7 points to 41.9%).

During the same period, the employment rate fell to 39.1% nationwide. This rate fell by 0.2 percentage points in urban areas (from 35.3% to 35.1%), and by 1.6 percentage points in rural areas (from 48.4% to 46.8%).