Four experts detail which will be the sectors and positions that will concentrate the highest labor demand by the end of the year, and how much the salaries will be.
Employment in the formal private sector registered 25 consecutive months of growth as of April. According to figures from the Electronic Payroll of the Ministry of Labor and Employment Promotion (MTPE), it increased by 4% in that month, compared to the same period in 2022.
Experts agree that during the remainder of the year labor demand in Peru should continue to show a gradual recovery trend. However, it is important to keep in mind that the reactivation is not uniform across all industries, as some sectors may still have the remnants of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ernesto Rubio, CEO of Ronald Career Services, commented that the labor market will be accentuated towards the end of the year, which in turn will boost the requirement for personnel in companies.
“In addition to this, the seasonality of the change to full summer and the Christmas holidays will also contribute to a higher labor demand in the Peruvian market,” he said.
Demand by positions and sectors.
The expert told Gestión that the areas with the highest concentration and where the largest labor supply would be: the information technology sector, mass consumption, retail and, to a lesser extent, services in general. In addition, the most demanded positions would be entry level, that is, junior positions, such as analysts, coordinators, supervisors and information programmers.
“These positions, in a transversal way in the organizational areas, will be the most demanded at the end of this fiscal year. In general, they are people between 23 and 28 years old, extending in some cases up to 32 years old,” Rubio said.
Daphne Beuermann, manager at Michael Page, said that there is currently a high interest in hiring front-line, commercial and sales profiles. This is due to a direct focus of companies to increase the profitability of business lines.
“From the marketing side, the various areas are being restructured, having a vision based on digital, which goes hand in hand with the digital transformation that most companies have had to join, as a result of consumer behaviors after the pandemic,” she detailed.
He also said that technological profiles continue to be a trend in the various structures, and this applies from entry-level positions to first-line management. Within the finance area, a profile that is being highly demanded is the general accountant with advanced English proficiency, which is giving more and more exposure to the role with various local and regional interlocutors, in case the companies have presence in other countries. “It is important to highlight that the level of English is also being relevant for hiring workers, regardless of the sector targeted,” he remarked.
Average salaries
Sandra Cubas, Managing Partner at Cornerstone, indicated to Gestión that the labor market is active so far in 2023. In fact, she said that there has been “a 15% growth in the number of positions compared to the previous year and we expect it to remain in line.”
In this context, she said that entry level positions, such as assistants or analysts, can earn between S/ 2,000 to S/ 3,500. Although this may vary depending on the size of the company, turnover, number of workers and additional benefits.
In the case of managerial positions, these can earn between S/ 12,000 to S/ 18,000 on average; while the manager of a company can receive from S/ 25,000 onwards. Within the latter range, the most sought-after positions are in Commercial Management, Finance Management, Technology Management, Transformation Management and Innovation and Development Management.
Professional or technical profiles?
Paola Chocano, Partner & Managing Director at Cornerstone Peru, mentioned that in general, the demand for technical profiles has been high in Peru during the last few years. Likewise, there is a growing need for qualified technicians in fields such as information technology, electronics, electricity, mechanics, among others.
In hard industries where the level of specialization of the technical profile is highly demanded, a technician can have a remuneration even higher than a professional. For example in the mining sector a technician can earn around S/ 7,500 to 10,000, he explained to Gestión.
Technical knowledge is always going to be important and a factor to evaluate in the market, especially in certain industries/positions that require specific technical knowledge, however, quite apart from technical knowledge, there is an inclination towards profiles with highly developed soft skills, among them having a strategic vision and communication at all levels.
This means that apart from the profile, whether technical or professional, teamwork skills, communication, strategy, among others, are necessary to occupy higher positions, especially in a labor market as changing and dynamic as the one we are in.
