Because the Cuban state heavily subsidizes the costs of basic foods, education, healthcare, transportation, and other facets of social life, regardless of whether one is incorporated into the workforce, not everyone is motivated to hold down formal employment. Especially for those in urban centers connected to the external economy, engaging in unsanctioned commerce or living off of remittances can prove more profitable than daily labor. The lack of material incentive has left thousands of unfilled vacancies in strategic sectors such as construction and agriculture. Havana has to import police, teachers and construction workers from the provinces because not enough capitalinos will take such occupations. Furthermore, the below replacement birthrates since the depression of the 1990s have not been able to restock the general labor force. The party and the state attempt to morally incentivize insertion into the workforce by portraying absentee laborers as parasites.
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