Colombia Unemployment Rate Rises to 11.7% in February

Unemployment in Colombia rose in February to 11.7% of the labor force. This figure represents a turnaround in the good trend of decreasing unemployment in recent months in the country, although it places the figure very close to that of the same month in 2023 when the rate stood at 11.4%. It also represents a drop compared to January, a traditionally difficult time to find a job.

What the data provided yesterday by the National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE) points to is a slowdown in the creation of jobs in Colombia. February’s percentage figure translates into 2.9 million Colombians without a job, while the employed population currently stands at 22.5 million people.

Labor market grows

Despite these negative data, the total labor force continues to grow: today it is 25.4 million, which means that there are more and more citizens looking for work. On the other hand, in the absolute data, without taking into account seasonality, it is worth noting that the figure stood at 10.7%, remaining for now in a range that has been seen since last October. This figure gives a better understanding of unemployment trends.

The sectors that generated the most employment this month were manufacturing, arts and entertainment, transportation and warehousing, as well as public administration, defense, education, and health.

In the presentation of the data, the director of DANE, Piedad Urdinola, explained that the “elaboration of food products, clothing manufacturing, and the manufacture of non-metallic mineral products” had a great deal to do with job creation.

In total, Colombia has a labor force of 39,907,000 people who are of working age, but of this value, only 22,493,000 make up the current labor force in the country, while the remaining 14,444,000, made up of students, pensioners, retirees, or pensioners, are outside this group.

Higher unemployment and informality rates

For the quarter between December 2023 and February 2024, the cities of Quibdo (28.4%), Riohacha (19.8%), and Florencia (16.9%) were the capitals with the highest unemployment rates. These are territories where high unemployment rates are traditionally concentrated.

Bogota registered an unemployment rate of 11.4%, similar to the national rate. The informality rate fell to 57% in February 2024, a variation of 1.3% against February 2023, when the index was 58.3%.

“We found rates very similar to those we had in February last year: there is a stabilization in the unemployment rate, in the overall participation rate, and in the occupation rate,” Urdinola pointed out.