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Friday, January 29th, 2016  |  USD: Buy 531.29 / Sell 543.92
20 years

Costa Rica employers will spread some US $1.4 billion of “holiday cheer” this year

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November 11th, 2015 (ICR News) Costa Rica employers will pay some ¢757 billion, or about US $1.4 billion, in mandatory Christmas bonuses known as aguinaldo to their employees this year, according to data published by the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC).

 

The figure represents an increase of some ¢43 billion, or about US $80.3 million versus last year.

 

Some 1,564,000 workers will receive an average bonus of ¢484,015, or about US $905, an average increase of ¢27,115 per worker versus last year.

 

By law, all employers, including the government, must pay the mandatory bonus – sometimes known as the “13th month” – between December 1st and December 20th.

 

For government workers, the bonus is calculated by calculating the sum of all gross wages paid to the employee between November 1st, 2014 and October 31st, 2015 and dividing by 12.  For private employees, the bonus is calculated in the same manner, but using the sum of all gross wages between December 1st, 2014 and November 30th, 2015.

 

All gross income is included, including overtime and any other payments.  No deductions are made for taxes or withholding payments when making the calculation.

 

This year, the central government – which typically makes up about 25 percent of the total dollar or colon value of all Christmas bonuses paid in the country – will deposit its employees’ bonuses on December 3rd, according to the Ministry of Finance.

 

Last year, the central government alone paid some US $330 million in Christmas bonuses to some 198,000 current and former government employees, an average of about $1,600 USD each, or roughly double the national average.

 

Costa Ricans typically use the bonus for purchasing holiday gifts, paying off debts, and taking year-end vacations.

 

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  • prdatki

    There should be no Christmas bonus for Public sector employees the Government is broke !

  • Ben

    Goverment in Costa Rica also get 3 weeks off during this period.

    • gc

      paid vacations plus a multitude of holidays plus mandatory severance. living in a dem socialist paradise. that is why things are so great.

  • Yeims

    I wonder if there is some kind of connection with the recent tightening of dollar accessibility here.

  • Ken Morris

    Ah, fun with numbers.

    I just multiplied the average bonus increase by the number of employees and reached almost the exact amount of the total increase. This tells us that formal employment in 2015 was almost identical (actually a tad up) to 2014. True, unemployment could have simultaneously increased in 2015, either because the labor pool expanded or the kinds of jobs lost were more likely to be included in the unemployment count, but in the main we see no change in employment/unemployment from 2014 to 2015.

    I also calculated (well, this time estimated), based upon the numbers provided, that the average Christmas bonus in the private sector is $790, or as Tim notes, about half that of the public sector.

    It doesn’t of course follow that public sector employees earn on the average twice as much as their private sector equivalents. I would guess that turnover, part-time, and seasonal employment are all more common in the private sector, and these factors all bring down the average bonus. It’s also surely the case that public sector employees on the average have more specialized job qualifications as well as more experience than private sector employees. The government after all isn’t hiring as many store clerks, dishwashers, and maids as is the private sector. Even so, on an anual basis, public sector employees are earning twice as much as those in the private sector.

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