Unemployment in Colombia fell in January to 10.9% and leaves a panorama of ambiguous figures in the labor market
Portafolio Journalist 02/27/2026 11:08 Updated: 02/27/2026 11:47
TL;DR
- The national unemployment rate in Colombia fell to 10.9% in January 2026, down from 11.6% in January 2025.
- This decrease is partly due to a lower labor force participation rate (63.6% vs. 64.1%) and a stable occupation rate (56.7%).
- In the 13 major cities, unemployment also dropped to 10.6% from 11.1% year-on-year, with similar trends in participation and occupation rates.
- A three-month mobile quarter (November 2025 - January 2026) shows a more robust picture with national unemployment at 8.6% and an increase in the occupation rate by 0.8 percentage points.
- Employment growth was led by public administration, defense, education, human health, professional services, and manufacturing.
- Sectors like trade, accommodation, and public services saw job losses.
- The increase in employment was largely driven by self-employment and entrepreneurship, rather than a strong expansion of private salaried employment.
- Regional disparities persist, with Quibdó having the highest unemployment rate (24.6%) and Bogotá D.C. the lowest (7.5%) in the November 2025 - January 2026 period.
- The number of people outside the labor force increased by 410,000, primarily in household chores and other categories like pensioners or those not wishing to work.