Labor market
Colombia's February unemployment rate drops to 9.2%
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Dane reported Colombia's February 2026 unemployment rate at 9.2%, the lowest for any February since 2001, with 2.45 million unemployed people. Occupied population rose to 24.09 million, up 624,000 from February 2025. President Gustavo Petro and Labor Minister Antonio Sanguino hailed the figures and defended the minimum wage increase.
DANE director Piedad Urdinola clarified discrepancies between her agency's employment figures and those from Ugpp, citing different sources and methodologies. This follows criticism from Andi, which claims half a million formal jobs lost since 2023. DANE measures the labor market through direct surveys, while Andi relies on social security contributors.
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Accountant Nicolás Boglione analyzed Osecac's claim, the commerce health insurance provider, regarding costs to maintain health coverage for self-employed taxpayers. He highlighted the difference between contributions from independent workers and inflows from dependent employees. He warned that the current system is outdated in today's labor market.
In December 2025, Colombia created 603,000 new jobs, lowering the unemployment rate to 8.0%, a drop of 1.1 percentage points from 2024. Yet, 55.5% of workers, or about 13.45 million people, remain in informal employment. Experts note progress but warn of ongoing structural challenges in the labor market.
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Colombia's National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE) reported that the unemployment rate for 2025 was 8.9%, the lowest since 2001. This figure marks a 1.3 percentage point decrease from 2024. In December 2025, the rate fell to 8%, with employed population rising by 603,000 people.