What we do

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is recognized as one of the leading multilateral organizations with expertise and operational leadership in employment or "job finding" services, also called labor intermediation services. The IDB has supported Mexico for more than 15 years in an extensive modernization of its National Employment Service, including the creation of the labor market's observatory, a nationwide expansion of offices, and more systematic evaluation and monitoring of its employment service. The IDB, through its labor markets unit, is supporting the creation of new employment services in the Dominican Republic, Bolivia, Peru, Honduras, and Panama.

Objective

To support policies and programs help workers to get better jobs more quickly and efficiently and to help them find suitable training.

Why intermediation?

Both public and private intermediation services help workers in the more advanced countries find good work and training. Finding employment in Latin American and Caribbean countries is particularly difficult, especially for low-skilled workers, because few jobs are openly advertised and informal contacts are widely used. Through loans and technical cooperation programs, the IDB supports both the creation of new employment services and innovations and expansions in existing systems. The IDB has published widely in the field and is currently embarking on a new research program to support innovations in such services throughout the region. The IDB has created a regional network of employment services which finances technical exchanges between the countries of the region.