Specter of unemployment hangs over Northern Triangle

The specter that hangs over the economies of the Northern Triangle of Central America --Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador-- is unemployment.

Salvadoran business people believe that high levels of unemployment and underemployment are likely to be the main negative factors that affect the business climate over the coming decade, according to a survey of the World Economic Forum.

In Honduras, the Tegucigalpa Chamber of Commerce says that 67 percent of the economically active population has a job, at least in the formal sense. En Guatemala, only 70 percent of jobs are in the formal sector.