The Cuban private sector, promoted by the regime as an alternative to state employment, struggles to find workers because the salaries it offers have been eroded by inflation.
A report by Amado Viera in Havana Times documents the phenomenon in Camagüey and Ciego de Ávila, two provinces where there were plenty of job seekers until recently.
The most illustrative case is that of the restaurant Dichín, in Camagüey, which reopened under private management on October 10 with the ambition of reclaiming its place as a reference point for Chinese cuisine in the city.
Just three days later, their owners published ads seeking waiters, kitchen assistants, and cooks, with a base salary of 900 pesos per day, slightly over 1.10 dollars at the informal exchange rate, which this week surpassed the historic barrier of 800 pesos per dollar.
The comments on Facebook were devastating. "No chef with dignity would accept that misery. Maybe someone desperate or some kid fresh out of the Culinary Association courses. Otherwise, I see the owners themselves having to deal with the pots," joked a user identified as "Anonymous Participant."
The phenomenon is not limited to Dichín. The bar-restaurant Nü House, also in Camagüey, has likewise announced the search for a pizza maker and assistants.
A former employee of the establishment, quoted anonymously, summarized the contradiction: "They know they have fallen behind in salaries. The assistants earn 1,250 pesos per shift, and the pizza makers earn between 2,000 and 3,000. These wages haven’t changed in months and stopped being competitive a long time ago. Without raising salaries, they have increased the menu prices: most dishes now cost double what they did a year ago."
A dinner for two at Nü House rarely falls below 20,000 pesos, almost seven times the legal monthly minimum wage of 3,210 pesos, which at the informal exchange rate is equivalent to less than four dollars.
The shortage even extends to low-skilled positions. Leandro, the owner of a printing shop in Camagüey, complains about "constantly having to train new employees who leave shortly after."
Iván Ortiz, owner of a roofing construction crew, claims to have turned down jobs due to the instability of his workforce, summarizing it this way: "People don't want to work," he told Havana Times.
An informal survey—without an identified author or methodology—of 25 private workers in both provinces revealed that only three had permanent contracts, that salary increases did not exceed 20% over twelve months, and that more than half of them held two or more jobs simultaneously.
The economist Omar Everleny Pérez calculated in April that maintaining a household of two people in Cuba required 61,710 pesos per month to cover basic needs. In September, he updated only the food budget and set it at 47,135 pesos for two people in Havana, which is nearly 60% more than a year earlier.
Between 2025 and 2026, the basic basket increased by 26.7% and food prices rose by more than 37%, percentages that far exceed the wage increases in the private sector. The average state salary in August was 7,354 pesos, which is less than ten dollars at the current exchange rate.
The new Labor Code, which has been in effect since September 25, states among its objectives the elimination of informal employment and the equalization of labor rights, but it does not address the central issue: wages.
This Saturday, Miguel Díaz-Canel affirmed that the 176 Economic and Social Transformations aim to "reduce inequalities" and protect the most vulnerable, a discourse that contrasts with the documented reality in Camagüey and Ciego de Ávila.
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