This is the lowest rate recorded in the last eight years for a February. The closest was recorded in 2017, when it was 10.9%.
The National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE) reported that the unemployment rate in Colombia was 10.3% for February. This represents a drop of 1.4 percentage points compared to the same period last year.
Good news for the country, as unemployment continues to decline. As explained by DANE Director Piedad Urdinola, this drop is statistically significant, meaning it's unusual for unemployment to decline at such a pace.
This is the lowest rate recorded in the last eight years for a February. The closest was recorded in 2017, when it was 10.9%. In other years, the figure has been above 11%, 12%, and 15% (as was the case during the pandemic).
To better understand these figures, it's important to keep in mind that there are 40.47 million people of working age in Colombia. Of these, 23.46 million are employed (this number increased by 977,000 compared to February of last year); 2.70 million are unemployed (267,000 fewer); and 14.29 million are outside the labor force, meaning they are not working because they are not interested, have a disability, receive an income, are studying, or perform unpaid household chores.
The sectors that are generating the most employment
Nearly one million jobs were created in February. A remarkable figure.
According to DANE (National Statistics Institute), the sector that created the most jobs was construction, with 219,000 new positions. This was followed by public administration, defense, education, and healthcare (218,000); accommodation and food services (178,000); vehicle trade and repair (132,000); agriculture, livestock, hunting, forestry, and fishing (131,000); professional and scientific activities (107,000); transportation and storage (105,000); manufacturing (94,000); and electricity, gas, and water supply and waste management (27,000).
However, some activities recorded job losses. These included finance and insurance (-21,000); information and communications (-37,000); real estate (-69,000); and artistic activities (-112,000).
