Colombia's National Administrative Department of Statistics (Dane) reported 2.13 million unemployed people in September 2025, with an unemployment rate of 8.2%, the lowest for any September since 2001. This marks an improvement from 9.1% in September 2024 and continues a downward trend throughout the year. The gender unemployment gap narrowed to 2.6 percentage points, the lowest on record.
The Dane released labor market figures for September 2025, indicating significant improvement. The number of unemployed stood at 2.13 million, the lowest since November 2024's 2.1 million. The unemployment rate was 8.2%, down from 9.1% in September 2024, and marks a historic low for any September since 2001, as stated by Dane director Piedad Urdinola: "resulta ser un mínimo histórico para cualquier mes de septiembre desde 2001, desde que es posible hacer la comparación".
By gender, the rate for women was 9.6% and for men 7.1%, with a 2.6 percentage point gap, the lowest on record. Employed men number 13.28 million, women 10.1 million. Cities with the highest unemployment rates include Quibdó (24%), Riohacha (14.2%), and Sincelejo (11.5%), while the lowest are Medellín (6.4%), Villavicencio (6.6%), and Florencia (7.6%).
The global participation rate remained at 63.9%, and the occupation rate rose from 58.4% to 58.7%. The commerce and vehicle repair sector employs 4.03 million (16.9% of total), followed by agriculture, hunting, livestock, and fishing with 3.37 million (14.1%). Manufacturing added 244,000 jobs, public administration and defense 188,000, and accommodation and food services 168,000. Own-account workers fell to 9.73 million from 9.96 million in August. Mariana Quinche, economist at Bbva Research, noted: "Por posición ocupacional, el aumento se concentró en los empleados de empresas privadas, lo que sugiere una mejora en la formalidad del empleo".
Year-over-year, employment grew by 714,000 to 23.97 million, with the bulk in the 25-54 age group (16.7 million).