Unemployment

Spain faces two problems hindering its per capita income convergence toward the EU level: unemployment and low productivity growth.

The labor informality rate in Colombia is higher for men (58%) than for women (53%), unlike other countries in the region. However, in specific subgroups like educational level and rural areas, women are more informal. Policies should focus on formality as a means to combat poverty.

In 2023, the average unemployment rate was 10.2% at the national level, decreasing by one percentage point with respect to 2022. Thus, labor variables showed resilience in a context of deceleration. However, by the end of the year, since September, a deterioration in the labor market to be monitored in 2024, was seen.

The Colombian economy will grow 1.5% in 2024 and 2.3% in 2025. Private consumption, in the same two years, will grow at rates of 2.2% and 3.0%, respectively. And fixed investment will move from negative (-2.0% in 2024) to positive figures (6.2% in 2025).

The national unemployment rate was 10.7% in April, down from 11.2% in the same month of 2022. Seasonally adjusted, the April unemployment rate was at relatively low levels. These lower levels of the unemployment rate have been observed since February 2023 and have been leveraged by a strong increase in employment.

In March the national unemployment rate was 10.0%, 2.1 percentage points lower than in the same month of 2022. Seasonally adjusted, the unemployment rate in March was 10.0%, down from 10.3% in February and below the 11.0% level around which it had stabilised between May 2022 and January 2023.