Dominican Commerce Employment Surpasses 1 Million Workers

Commerce became the Dominican Republic’s largest individual source of employment in 2025, with an average of 1,037,060 people working in the sector, according to an analysis by the National Organization of Commercial Enterprises (ONEC) based on labor-market data from the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic.

The figure represents 20.2% of total employment in the country and highlights the role of commerce as a major source of income and economic activity. The sector employed 822,261 people in 2015, meaning it added 214,799 jobs over the following decade.

ONEC’s analysis found that commerce accounted for approximately 21% of the net employment created by the Dominican economy between 2015 and 2025. Its workforce was larger than that of industries such as manufacturing, construction, education, transportation and public administration.

Formal Employment Expanded Over the Decade

The increase in commerce employment was accompanied by stronger growth in formal jobs. Between 2015 and 2025, formal employment in the sector increased by 37.8%, outpacing the growth recorded in informal employment during the same period.

The shift has contributed to a gradual improvement in the sector’s level of formalization. For businesses and workers, greater formal employment can affect access to social protections, registered income and other benefits associated with participation in the formal economy.

Jenniffer Troncoso, executive director of ONEC, said the scale of the workforce makes commerce a significant factor in employment and economic activity. She argued that policies affecting the sector should consider its capacity to continue generating jobs and supporting economic growth.

Commerce Wages Remain Above the National Average

Workers in formal commerce jobs also recorded average earnings above the national level. In 2024, the average wage for a formal commerce worker was RD$29,938, compared with RD$26,628 nationwide, a difference of 12.4%.

The gap remained in 2025. Average formal-sector pay in commerce reached RD$31,392.30, compared with RD$28,905 nationally, leaving commerce wages 8.6% above the national average.

The analysis also estimates that monthly labor income in commerce increased from RD$14,375 in 2015 to RD$26,326 in 2025. The estimated figure reached RD$27,452 in the first quarter of 2026, based on hourly earnings and hours worked reported through the Central Bank’s Continuous National Labor Force Survey.

Formal Commerce Pay Exceeded the Minimum Wage

The study also compared formal commerce wages with the country’s non-sector-specific minimum wage. Using a simple average of the four wage scales based on company size, the minimum stood at RD$19,449.80 in 2024 and RD$21,674.90 in 2025.

Average formal commerce wages were therefore 53.9% above that benchmark in 2024 and 44.8% higher in 2025. The comparison indicates that formal workers in commerce earned substantially more than the applicable average minimum-wage level during both years.

The employment figures place commerce at the center of the Dominican labor market. With more than one million workers and a growing formal component, changes affecting commercial businesses can have broad consequences for household incomes and employment across the economy.