Colombia | In February, employment continues to remain stable at high levels

Summary

In February 2023, the national unemployment rate was 11.4%, seasonally adjusted, showing lower levels than in previous months, explained by an increase in the population outside the labor force, with employment remaining at similar levels since May 2022.

Key points

• Key points:
• In February 2023, the national unemployment rate was 11.4% and the urban unemployment rate was 11.5%. Adjusting for seasonality, in February the national and urban unemployment rates showed lower levels than in the previous two or three months, explained in part by an increase in the population outside the labor force, which allowed for reductions in the number of unemployed.
• At the national level, adjusting for seasonal factors, employed persons were 22.4 million, similar to the levels observed since May 2022.
• In annual terms, national employment grew 2.5% in February, slowing down its growth rate with respect to January (3.8% annually). The slowdown in annual job creation was more noticeable in salaried employment, which went from growing 8.9% in January of this year to 3.4% in February. Thus, the proportion of non-salaried workers in total employment went from 51.0% to 53.6% between January and February 2023.
• In February, transportation and warehousing and accommodation and food services were the main contributors to annual job creation. These sectors appear to have little room for growth at the margin, in part, due to recent events in the airline industry that may slow down the dynamics that the tourism sector has been experiencing. This further supports our view that annual employment growth will continue to slow this year.

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