Overview of Uruguay

Uruguay is a South American country with a lush interior and a coastline studded with beaches. Montevideo's capital centres on Plaza Independencia, which was originally home to a Spanish citadel. Ciudad Vieja (Old City), which features art deco structures, colonial dwellings, and the Mercado del Puerto, a historic harbour market with numerous steakhouses. The seaside promenade La Rambla runs past fish markets, docks, and parks.

Total Population: 3,423,224 people

Total GDP: US $73.03 billion (2024 est.)

Economic Overview

This year, Uruguay's economy has remained in the moderately free category, where it has been since the Index's debut in 1995. To move from basically free to mostly free, the government would need to enhance the judicial system, minimize government spending, loosen labour market rules, and lessen state meddling and control in the banking sector.

Market size 

Uruguay's agricultural industry, which exports beef, dairy, wine, grains, and forestry products, is the country's economic backbone. Agricultural products account for more than half of Uruguay's overall exports. Food processing and agricultural product refinement account for almost half of all industrial output. The beef was Uruguay's most popular export product in 2019, while China was the country's top export destination. Uruguay is also a desirable market for foreign businesses. It is one of the most politically and economically stable countries in the region, and its Free Trade Zones can function as a regional distribution hub.

Uruguay's economy expanded for the longest time in its history, from 2003 to 2019. According to the Central Bank of Uruguay, while economic growth remained strong in 2014, it began to decelerate in 2014 and fell to 0.5 percent in 2019. Commodity price declines, as well as recessions in Argentina and Brazil - two of Uruguay's key trading partners — all contributed to the fall. Experts predict that the economy will decrease in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic's economic repercussions, but it will grow in 2021.

A brief glimpse of the industries

• Agriculture, textiles, and leather: Beef and wool have been Uruguay's most important exports throughout its history. Beef exports have increased since Uruguay joined the Mercosur agreement in 1991, allowing the country to reach out to more distant markets such as Japan. Wool exports have not performed well in recent years, owing to competition from other countries in the market, such as New Zealand, and changes in demand during the developed world's 2008/09 recession. Forestry has become a booming business in recent years, even though timber processing is kept.

• Energy: Uruguay imports crude and refined oil from foreign countries for its energy needs. It manufactures a variety of petroleum products. Uruguay has abundant renewable energy resources, with alternative energy sources providing 95 percent of the country's electricity.

• Mining: Even though this sector does not contribute much to the country's economy, there has been some activity in gold and cement production, as well as granite extraction, in recent years.

• Plastics: Uruguay's most important manufactured exports, thanks to two huge investments made in 1991 and 1997. These investments paved the way for most of Uruguay's significant exports of plastic-based items, which have become critical to the country's economy.

• Telecommunications: Despite the low fixed-line investment, Uruguay's small population has allowed the country to achieve one of the greatest teledensity levels in South America and achieve 100 percent digitalization of major lines. Even though the telecommunications sector has been a governmental monopoly for some time, efforts have been made to liberalize it and allow additional enterprises to enter the cellular sector.

• Tourism & Travel: Travel and tourism contributed 9.4% of the country's GDP in 2013.

Most of their tourism industry is focused on luring visitors from neighboring countries. The interior of Uruguay, notably the region around Punta del Este, is currently the country's most popular tourist destination. 

Cost of living in Uruguay

Uruguay's cost of living is US $846, which is 1.15 times more than the global average. Uruguay is the 47th greatest country to live in, with a living cost ranking 86th out of 197 countries. In Uruguay, the average post-tax salary is US $567, enough to cover living expenses for 0.7 months.

Cost of renting in Uruguay

If you are looking to rent a place in Uruguay, then the exact cost you will have to incur depends on several factors, such as the location, amenities, and facilities required. Locations present in the city are much more expensive for renting than locations in the suburbs away from the city. Compared to the United States, renting in Uruguay is much lower than in other countries in South America. Likewise, the cost of living in tier 1 cities is considerably higher than in tier 2 cities.

• Tier 1 cities are Montevideo, Salto, Ciudad de la Costa, Paysandú etc.
• Tier 2 cities are Las Piedras, Rivera, Maldonado, Tacuarembó etc.

The top sectors that are expected to hire in 2024 in Uruguay are: -

Top skills in Uruguay

The economy in Paraguay has been registering impressive growth over the last few years, and the trend is expected to continue post-pandemic. The top skills which are in great demand in Uruguay are: -

• Medicine and Healthcare
• Marketing and Finance
• Technology
• Analytical Skills
• Law

Hiring Cost in Uruguay

The cost of hiring is an extremely important facet for employers while conducting a recruitment process. You need to think about several factors before deciding to hire new personnel, such as: -

• Onboarding and training
• Opportunity costs
• Interviews and hiring processes
• Time invested

Salary structure for various roles

The table below highlights the average salaries that are offered to employees in Uruguay according to different sectors: -

Employment laws in Uruguay

1. Payment Of Salary: According to a new law that just went into effect, all payments must now be made using a financial instrument such as a check or a bank transfer. Cash payments are no longer accepted, with a few exceptions. The Ministry of Labor establishes a nationwide minimum wage. Furthermore, each type of company activity has its own set of minimum wages for employees. Wage Panels ("Consejos de Salarios"), composed of employers, employees, and government officials, negotiate these minimum salaries in collective agreements. Salaries are paid on a monthly, weekly, or daily basis
2. Working Hours: The standard working day is 8 hours long and 48 hours long every week, with 44 hours for retail workers. It is possible for the parties to agree to labour less, but not more.
3. Overtime: This should be paid at twofold the ordinary rate when it is on a functioning day. At the point when it is a non-working day, the rate is more than multiple times.
4. Aguinaldo: This is a legitimately required reward instalment equivalent to one month's compensation, known as a thirteenth compensation. It is payable in two portions, part in June and part in December.
5. Paid holidays: Each representative is qualified for 20 days of paid occasion each year. At regular intervals of work with a similar boss, they are qualified for 1 extra day each year. During the main year of work, the worker isn't qualified for any occasion – during that first year, they collect the option to take an occasion in the next year.
6. Representatives are qualified for extra leave (paid) as follows:

• Maternity leave (12 weeks)
• Paternity leave (3 days)
• Marriage Leave (3 days)
• Study leave for college understudies (6, 9, or 12 days of the year relying upon the number of hours worked)
• Leave for family passing (3 days)
• Leave for association exercises – relies upon the aggregate arrangement)

Payment of Holidays: All representatives are qualified for paid occasions; for example, notwithstanding their right to 20 days of paid occasion leave, they should be given an extra instalment, identical to 100% of their salary for those 20 days. The thought being that they need their ordinary compensation to pay their fundamental requirements, and this extra cash is to empower them to take an occasion.

Uruguay Remote Hiring Trends 2024

Increase in remote workers

The number of remote workers in Uruguay has skyrocketed since the COVID-19 pandemic. Out of the 3.5 million citizens in Uruguay, 100,000 now work remotely. These remote workers work for both Uruguayan and foreign companies, many of whom work in the tech field.

Surplus of tech workers

Since the 1980s, the Uruguayan government has promoted STEM education for its citizens. Today, Uruguay is one of the leading Latin American nations for tech workers such as software engineers, program managers, and web developers.

In 2022, Uruguay ranked as having the most GitHub users per capita, with GitHub being one of the world’s top coding platforms for software development. Due to the skilled tech workforce, many international tech companies hire contractors in Uruguay for quality short-term work.

Remote hiring costs

Hiring in Uruguay in 2022 is often more cost-effective than hiring in other nations like the United States. The minimum wage in Uruguay is 22,245 Uruguayan Pesos (UYU) or $521.98 per month.

The median annual salary for a software engineer in Uruguay is $32,838, while a software engineer in the United States earns a median salary of $93,965. These costs for industry-leading work are hard to beat, and more companies desire to hire employees in Uruguay.

In-demand industries

The hiring trends in Uruguay reveal a few in-demand job titles. The most in-demand jobs in Uruguay are:

• Accounting specialist
• IT analyst
• Product manager
• IT project manager
• Software engineer

The top hiring companies in Uruguay are:

• Deloitte
• Tata Consultancy Services
• IBM
• Oracle
• PwC
• Santander

Digital nomads in Uruguay

Another remote hiring trend in Uruguay is hiring contractors and employees who are "digital nomads" residing there. A digital nomad works remotely while living in a location of their choice, typically outside their home country. Uruguay has become a popular destination for digital nomads in 2022 with its low cost of living, welcoming culture, and beach-lined coasts as major points of attraction.

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How Can Skuad Help You with Hiring in Uruguay?

With several rules and regulations to be addressed while recruiting new talent, hiring processes in Uruguay can become complicated and time-consuming. But with Skuad as your hiring partner, you can get the best talent for your organization in a quick time. Connect with Skuad Experts to know more.

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