Paraguay's labor market registered expansion in the second quarter of 2026, with the non-agricultural employed population reaching 2,845,646 people, an increase of 128,745 workers compared to the same period in 2025. However, most of this growth occurred in the informal sector, which reached 1,753,316 people, representing 61.6% of the total non-agricultural employed.
Formal employment also grew, rising from 1,032,683 to 1,090,118 workers, an increase of 5.6%. Despite the faster percentage rate, the absolute number of new informal jobs was higher, with 74,307 positions compared to 57,435 in the formal sector. The rural informality rate reached 72.4%, more than 13 percentage points higher than the urban rate, which stood at 59%.
According to the Continuous Permanent Household Survey (EPHC) by the National Institute of Statistics (INE), a formal worker is defined as a salaried employee who contributes to a pension system or an independent worker registered in the Single Taxpayer Registry. Informality, in turn, limits access to social protection and reduces the country's contributory base.
The quarterly comparison reveals fragility: between the first and second quarters of 2026, informal employment increased by 98,136 people, while formal employment fell by 18,290. The data shows that although the market has the capacity to generate jobs, challenges persist in improving job quality and expanding pension coverage.