Labor market in Haiti

Informal work provides most livelihoods in Haiti. A World Bank country assessment estimates that about 86% of workers are informal and that the informal sector generates about 60% of gross domestic product. A 2023 High-Frequency Phone Survey estimated formal employment at about 12%, while other sources use different definitions and samples. In the 2021–2025 phone surveys, about four in ten adults were working, around six in ten working respondents were self-employed, and services accounted for about seven in ten reported jobs. These results are not equivalent to a current, fully comparable national labor force survey; the latest ILOSTAT household-survey basis identified for Haiti is the 2012 Enquête sur les Conditions de Vie. Agriculture remains a major source of work and income, with a 39% employment share in the 2012 national survey. In the phone-survey series, retail and small-scale trade rose from 27.8% of reported employment in 2020 to 43.2% in 2023. Public administration and education fell from 3.3% to 2.4%, while manufacturing fell from 5.2% to 2.9%. Construction, transport, domestic work, artisanat, hotels and restaurants, information and communication technology, health, financial services, nongovernmental organizations and international organizations also provide work. Export apparel and assembly employ relatively few workers but remain strategically relevant to formal employment. Work opportunities are concentrated around Ouest and the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area, with Cap-Haïtien as another economic center. More than 75% of higher-education institutions are located in Ouest. Urban markets contain more trade, services and formal employment links, while rural areas rely more heavily on agriculture and informal activity. Insecurity and blocked transport routes can interrupt movement between southern and northern markets and disrupt export supply chains, so the same qualification may have different practical value depending on location. The Institut national de la formation professionnelle (INFP), under MENFP, regulates vocational training nationally. State centers and accredited private centers offer training, and the law of 21 May 2018 includes Validation des Acquis de l'Expérience, which recognizes relevant prior experience through the applicable process. INFP's 2026–2027 planning identifies five economic sectors, 25 training hubs, 696 occupational training programs and 3,480 occupational standards. Entry normally takes place through an accredited institution and may include an examination; fees and duration depend on the center, program and calendar. Higher education and advanced training remain regionally concentrated. The Code du travail and later amendments provide the legal framework for employment, labor inspection, minimum wages and union and collective rights. Haiti uses sector-based minimum wages with an eight-hour workday as a reference. A 2022 government plan listed daily amounts of HTG 770 for segment A, HTG 615 for segments B, F, G and H, HTG 540 for segment C, and HTG 350 for domestic work in segment E. On 4 May 2026, the government set HTG 1,000 per day for sous-traitance; further sector increases were announced, but their amounts and effective dates require verification. Nominal wages should be compared with inflation and exchange-rate losses because purchasing power can fall even when the HTG amount rises. A PNPPS estimate placed 94.7% of agricultural workers below the applicable minimum wage. MAST, through the Service Public de l'Emploi, provides digital employment-matching services and portals for jobseekers and employers. The Direction de la Main-d'Œuvre and SPMT also support placement and labor migration. Haitian workers may use a livret de travail, while foreign workers require a work permit. INFP contributes vocational guidance and monitoring of training needs. The formal placement pathway may involve a dossier, tests, an interview and a fee, but the available research does not establish its reach among informal employers or give a reliable nationwide fee amount. Many people therefore find work through personal networks, local trade and direct arrangements outside measured formal channels. MAST has a protection mandate covering formal and informal work, but actual coverage and enforcement are weak, especially in agriculture, domestic work and other informal activities. ONA provides old-age insurance, and OFATMA covers workplace accidents, occupational illness and maternity-related protection within its applicable schemes. The available evidence does not establish universal nationwide unemployment insurance. Non-payment of social contributions increased from 78.9% in 2021 to 85.8% in 2023, which limits effective protection even where a formal scheme exists. Economic conditions have reduced employment stability. The Economic Activity Indicator fell by 17% between the first quarter of 2019 and the second quarter of 2024. Reported declines were about 16% in manufacturing, 23% in construction, 43% in utilities, 26% in trade, and 23% in hotels and restaurants. More than seven in ten households reporting wage income, non-farm self-employment or agricultural income in the 2021–2025 phone surveys reported a decline or loss. A World Bank estimate placed apparel job losses at about 30,000 in 2024. Crisis conditions, natural hazards, inflation and insecurity have increased informal work, in-work poverty and regional mismatches between available skills and jobs. Migration also changes Haiti's labor supply. Remittances equaled about 16.9% of gross domestic product in 2024, and recorded net migration was -32,052 in 2025. The 1,041,229 internally displaced people recorded at the end of 2024 shifted labor supply and access to jobs within the country. Diaspora migration, brain drain, return and deportation can remove or reintroduce skills. The available research does not identify a nationwide portable placement system linking these movements to local vacancies; alternatives are mainly informal. National and sectoral figures should therefore be checked against the latest IHSI, MAST, INFP and current wage or labor regulations before a specific employment, training or pay decision.