The formation of the transitional government, the airport reopening, and the initial deployment of the Kenya security mission contributed to a fragile partial recovery in economic activity in some areas of Port-au-Prince during the second half of 2024, as businesses that had suspended operations during the February-March gang offensive cautiously resumed activities and markets that had been closed reopened in areas where security had marginally improved.
The partial economic recovery was real but extremely fragile. Businesses that reopened did so knowing that another gang offensive could force them to close again at any time. The investments required to rebuild inventory, rehire staff, and restore operations were being made against a background of continuing uncertainty that discouraged the deeper commitments needed for genuine economic recovery.
The informal economy that sustained most Haitian livelihoods showed similar patterns of cautious reactivation. Market women who had not been able to trade during the offensive gradually resumed their activities as streets became marginally safer. Moto-taxi drivers who had parked their bikes during the most dangerous periods returned to work. Day laborers who had lost weeks of income began finding sporadic employment again.
Economists monitoring Haiti’s economic situation cautioned against interpreting the partial second-half recovery as evidence of a turning point. The fundamental conditions — gang territorial control, institutional weakness, weapons availability, political uncertainty — that had produced the economic crisis had not meaningfully changed. The recovery was a product of specific short-term factors, not structural improvement, and could be easily reversed by another security deterioration.