The construction sector in the Northern Region has the largest number of salaried workers in this activity nationwide and pays the highest hourly wages. Furthermore, it is the region where the most hours are worked per week, meaning that the income in this sector in the Cibao region is the highest of the four macro-regions.
This conclusion was reached in the report “Economic Overview of the Northern Region,” published this week by the Central Bank. The document also highlights that, in terms of labor compensation, the construction sector in the Northern Region had one of the highest hourly wages in September 2021: 127.5 pesos.
According to Diario Libre , the construction sector in Cibao also registered a significant number of hours worked per week: 39.2 in the same period, the report states.
“The importance of the Northern Region in the national economic structure includes its participation in the construction sector, both in terms of the number of properties and financing,” the document states. “A large proportion of the workforce dedicated to the sector is also located in the Cibao region, and it is one of the areas where financing, both for construction and for home purchases, recovered most rapidly after the shutdown of the production system due to the pandemic,” says the study, which is being reported today by Diario Libre.
- Geographical composition of the Northern Region or Cibao
| NORTHERN CIBAO | CIBAO NORTHEAST | CIBAO SOUTH | CIBAO NORTHWEST |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santiago | Duarte | La Vega | Valverde |
| Puerto Plata | Mirabal Sisters | Monsignor Nouel | Santiago Rodríguez |
| Espaillat | María Trinidad Sánchez | Sánchez Ramírez | Dajabón |
| Samaná | Montecristi |
Although the report does not delve into the characterization of the workforce, other studies have highlighted the high presence of Haitians in this type of work.
One published in 2020 highlighted that the employed population of foreign origin is mostly male and of Haitian origin, and that the male population represents 99.1% of those employed in construction.
In spatial terms, the Cibao Norte region concentrated 20.9% of those employed in the construction sector of foreign origin, according to the study "Estimation of the demand for foreign workers in the construction and agricultural sectors in the Dominican Republic," published by the National Institute of Migration and the International Organization for Migration and the International Labour Organization.
Housing adds to the sector
Housing construction contributes to the boom in the construction sector in the Northern Region.
The Central Bank report highlights that, between 2015 and 2021, housing projects resulted in the construction of 5,749 residences nationwide. Of this total, 579 out of every 1,000 were located in the Northern Region, with 2017 being the most significant year, as the region accounted for 74.0% of the national total.
“This increase is explained by the construction of the Ciudad Juan Bosch project, located in the province of Santiago, which was carried out through the trust fund for low-cost housing; as well as by the development of 143 homes in the province of Puerto Plata. Both projects represented a total of 2,119 new homes for families in the Cibao region,” says the report, prepared by the Sub-Directorate of Regional Studies and Macroeconomic Surveys of the Department of Monetary Programming and Economic Studies of the Dominican Central Bank.
The report highlights disparities in the number of homes built by the government by province between 2015 and 2021 when adjusted for each 10,000 households living in poverty. “On the one hand, in the provinces of Santiago and Santiago Rodríguez, 56.9 and 44.8 homes were built per thousand poor households, respectively, while on the other hand, in the rest of the provinces, this number was less than twenty housing units.”.
