Colombia | Labor market shows further deterioration in February

Summary

The national unemployment rate in February 2024 was 11.7%, higher than the 11.4% in February 2023. On the year to February, employment grew 1.2% (260 thousand jobs), down from 2.5% (533 thousand jobs) in January 2024, continuing the trend of slowing annual job creation.

Key points

• Key points:
• Industry and arts and entertainment activities were the largest generators of employment in the year, contributing more than 140 thousand jobs, each, of the 260 thousand jobs created in the year. Retail continued to destroy jobs, in line with the activity. Employment in agriculture, on the other hand, reversed its strong January increase, suggesting that the increase was temporary.
• By type of occupation, as of February, the boost in employment came mainly from salaried employment, driven by salaried employment in private companies, which grew by 3.8% annually (by 356 thousand jobs). Thus, salaried employment went from representing 46% of total employment in February 2023 to 48% in February 2024.
• By region, employment was boosted by employment in large cities, which grew by 3.3% (340 thousand jobs), while employment in the countryside fell by 3.2% (152 thousand jobs).

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