VENEECONOMIST
Analysis Type B — Trend · MARCH 25, 2026

$391 Per Worker: Venezuela's Productivity Collapse and What It Means for Anyone Who Wants to Produce There

Verdict: UNDER OBSERVATION · Favorable outlook. Real output per worker in Venezuela fell from $1,014 in 2008 to $391 in 2025. To match the output of one American worker, you need 286 Venezuelans. The most devastating number in the country isn't inflation or debt — it's productivity. And no OFAC license fixes it.

Published March 25, 2026

The St. Louis Fed published an analysis this week that puts into numbers what every business operator in Caracas experiences daily: Venezuela has suffered the largest peacetime labor productivity collapse in modern history. Output per worker — how much economic value the average employed person generates — dropped from $1,014 in 2008 to $391 in 2025. A Venezuelan worker today produces less than half of what they produced 17 years ago.

The figure isn't explained by sanctions or lack of workers. It's explained by the destruction of the productive apparatus: shuttered factories, broken supply chains, intermittent electricity, congested ports, and the massive flight of skilled human capital. 7.7 million Venezuelans emigrated — but productivity didn't rise among those who stayed because the infrastructure they work with was destroyed alongside them.

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Classification
Analysis Type B — Trend
Productive Sectors
March 25, 2026
VENE · ECONOMIST Intelligence Unit · Informational analysis. Does not constitute investment, legal or tax advice. Vene Economist is not a credit rating agency; the "VE Verdict" is a proprietary editorial indicator, not a credit rating. Always verify against the primary source before making decisions.
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Topics

OFACInflation & FX

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ANÁLISIS · RIESGO · SANCIONES

What OFAC’s New License Does —and Doesn’t— Allow for Aiding Venezuela After the Quake

After the earthquake, OFAC issued General License 60, which temporarily lifts the sanctions prohibitions for relief through October 23, 2026, and the U.S. pledged US$150M through the UN and aid partners. A descriptive map of the perimeter: which transactions are authorized (including third-country transfers), what the license leaves out (no property unblocked, no ordinary remittances or commerce), and through which vehicles the money flows. Information, not advice.

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GL 60 — Earthquake Relief Efforts (through October 23, 2026)

Authorizes, through 12:01 a.m. eastern time on October 23, 2026, transactions ordinarily incident and necessary to earthquake-relief efforts following the June 24, 2026 earthquake in Venezuela that would otherwise be prohibited by the Venezuela Sanctions Regulations (31 CFR part 591), including those involving the Government of Venezuela and SDNs sanctioned under the executive orders incorporated into the VSR. Note 1 covers the processing and transfer of funds on behalf of third-country persons in support of relief and lets U.S. financial institutions and money transmitters rely on the originator to establish compliance. Does not unblock blocked property and does not cover ordinary activity (routine remittances, general commerce).