This is partly due to lack of talent

A new study jointly conducted by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) has found that many high-skilled jobs created in Latin America by online platforms such as Amazon and Cabify may have gone unfilled.

This is partly due to lack of talent, based on evidence coming out of the study. However, it is unclear as to how many high-tech jobs these platforms created and how many have remained vacant.

The joint study looked at a comparison of the composition of demand and supply for work on these platforms with the results showing that demand tends to be higher than supply for tasks requiring high levels of qualification.

Supply is relatively higher for occupations involving less complex tasks

According to the study, “while in occupations involving less complex tasks (data processing or sales), supply is relatively higher“.

Among the roles the platforms created include software engineers and data scientists.

The report suggested that most of the jobs created by the platforms are not covered by labour legislation in the region cautioning that, “although these forms of work may offer new job opportunities, they tend to make the labour market more precarious”.

However, it was highlighted that platform jobs are increasingly gaining popularity in Colombia, Chile as well as some Caribbean countries.

Nearly one per cent of the entire employed population in Argentina, Colombia and the Dominican Republic are engaged in online platform work.

Interestingly, some job-seekers interviewed by the ILO said they were thankful that the platforms gave them “the ability to leave unemployment behind”.