Colombia | Unemployment rate remained relatively stable in June

Summary

In June 2021, the national unemployment rate stood at 14.4% and the urban unemployment rate at 17.1%, lower than the observed the same month last year, but much higher than in 2019. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained relatively stable in June and the employment level was similar to that of October 2020.

Key points

• Key points:
• With seasonally adjusted data for each month, the June unemployment rate was relatively stable with respect to May, at levels close to the average of the year, both at the national and urban levels. The stability of the unemployment rate is partly due to the poor dynamics of the labor force, with employment at relatively low levels.
• In June, national employment and urban employment decreased with respect to May, placing the number of employed at levels similar to those of October 2020 and reversing part of the recovery achieved by the end of the year. In June, national employment stood at 92.0% of its pre-pandemic level (February 2020) and urban employment at 90.8%.
• The pace of employment growth, both at the national and urban levels, slowed down since the beginning of the year. While employment varied by -0.3% monthly at the national level so far this year, between July 2020 and December 2020 it varied by 2.3% monthly. At the urban level, its average monthly growth was -0.1% in the first half of the year and 2.8% in the second half.
• Although the economy is close to its pre-pandemic level in terms of activity, the labor market still shows a significant lag, recovering only 70% of the employment lost during the pandemic (5.9 million people lost during the pandemic).
• It is expected that during the second half of the year, job creation will pick up due to the greater opening of sectors that are still affected, the return to more widespread attendance in education and the government's employment support policy. In addition, the increase in the number of hours worked may be anticipating higher hiring. The gradualness of the upturn will depend on the progress of the pandemic and the care strategy implemented.

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