ECLAC says stagnant productivity keeps Latin America and the Caribbean in low-growth trap

SANTIAGO, Chile. Productivity in Latin America and the Caribbean has been stagnant since the 2010s and the gap with the rest of the world continues to widen, the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) has said.

In its report "Panorama of Productive Development Policies in Latin America and the Caribbean 2026", ECLAC said labour productivity per hour worked in the region rose by 0.7 per cent in 2025, compared with 0.8 per cent in 2024. On average, each hour worked generated US$11.30 at current prices.

The commission said the region remains caught in a trap of low capacity for growth and transformation, explained largely by stagnant productivity. After what it called a second lost decade, from 2014 to 2023, the region faces the challenge of restoring growth amid rivalry and technological competition among major powers.

New index

ECLAC is urging countries to scale up and strengthen their productive development policies, with the twin aims of raising productivity and creating more and better jobs. This year's report introduces a Productive Development and Employment Index, which combines both dimensions. The index showed improvement in 2025 but remains well below its 2008 peak.

The study focuses on technological extension services, which help companies adopt and adapt available technologies, and on human talent. Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises often operate far from the technological frontier, it said.

ECLAC examined 25 policy documents in 17 countries, mapped 502 initiatives in 33 countries and analysed 17 active programmes in eight countries. It found that only 8 per cent of the science, technology, innovation and productive development policies reviewed included technological extension measures.

Fragmented support

The regional offering is fragmented and concentrated in agriculture, which accounts for 68 per cent of the initiatives identified, while manufacturing participation remains limited. The main obstacles include a lack of stable financing, limited specialised programmes and weak evaluation systems.

On human talent, the report found that only three of the ten countries examined have institutionalised mechanisms for coordinating skills and productive development policies. ECLAC proposes six guidelines, including linking training to sectoral agendas, assessing skills gaps continuously and involving the business sector.

Marco Llinas, director of ECLAC's Productive and Business Development Division, said the report aims to make proposals that "accelerate the productive transformation of our economies, increase their productivity, and improve employment conditions and well-being in the region".