Costa Rica has posted one of the strong hiring outlooks, for jobs, from places all across the world. Costa Rican businesses are anticipating increasing their hiring by 28 per cent between April and June of this year.
Only five per cent of the businesses will reduce staff while 66 per cent will maintain their current employee level. This puts Costa Rica as the second best place to find a job in Latin America, second only to Brazil.
There are jobs available for foreigners who visit the country. A number of these are in English as a Second Language (ESL) where an instructor can work with various age groups in a private language school or in a regular school. Often times the hiring school will arrange for the necessary documentation along with arrangements for housing and transportation. Other people go to Costa Rica to operate a business. There is a need for new business in the real estate field, the hotel and tourist sector, and the food franchise businesses, to name a few. Still, others go there to retire.
Costa Rica is Preparing for Growth
The thing to remember is that you are living in a foreign country no matter how you look at it. Most people will need to learn the culture and adapt to it; like any foreign country there are set mores, customs, and day-to-day living. The important thing for the foreigner to remember is that s/he is in a new country and it is necessary to adapt – because the country is not going to change their ways for you. Too, the foreigner needs to understand the salaries and understand the monetary system, the types of jobs available, and the cost of living.
In most cases a foreigner can work in the country by getting a work permit. This can be done through the employer. Or, another way is to apply for residency. This step should be handled by an attorney. The work permit must be renewed each year. Aside from teaching positions other jobs are available in the tourist industry business. Those foreigners with a strong work background might apply at large, multinational companies such as Motorola and Intel. Often these will require a basic command of the Spanish language.
The Latin American country relies heavily on tourism, agriculture, and electronics export. The economy has seen a reduction in poverty during the last 15 years. The GDP in 2009 was $48.19 billon for Costa Rica. The area saw a decline in their GDP of 2.5 per cent from the previous year. This was basically attributed to the global economic crisis. Still, the GDP per capita was $11,300 U.S. dollars. During last year the country has faced an inflation rate of 8.3 per cent. Still, the country has 2.09 million people who have a job to go to each day and the country suffers a fairly low unemployment rate of 6.4 per cent.
Last month Costa Rica elected their first female president. Laura Chinchilla has announced that job growth will be one of the main topics on her agenda. Her election will definitely change the political climate in the country although most observers believe her devotion to increase job growth will meet with a positive reaction in all of the political climates.