Colombia Jobless Rate Rises Slightly in July

Colombia’s unemployment rate edged up to 8.1% in July 2026 from 8.0% in June. In the 13 cities and metropolitan areas, the rate stood at 8.5%. The unemployment rate was 10.1% among women and 6.7% among men, resulting in a gender gap of 3.4 percentage points. The highest unemployment rates were recorded in Quibdó (23.0%), Cartagena (13.6%), and Sincelejo (13.0%), while the lowest were reported in Medellín (7.0%), Bucaramanga A.M. (7.2%), and Pereira A.M. (7.5%). Meanwhile, the number of unemployed people nationwide fell by 160,000 year-on-year, representing a 6.9% decline.

Colombia's unemployment rate held steady at 8% in June 2026, unchanged from the previous month and slightly below market expectations of 8.1%. The unemployment rate stood at 9.9% for women and 6.6% for men, resulting in a gender gap of 3.3 percentage points. Across the country's 13 major metropolitan areas, the unemployment rate was 8.3%. The highest jobless rates were recorded in Quibdó (23.3%), Cartagena (13.2%), and Ibagué (12.8%), while Medellín Metropolitan Area (7.1%), Pereira Metropolitan Area (7.2%), and Villavicencio (7.9%) posted the lowest rates. The national employment rate stood at 59.4%. In the April-June 2026 period, the average unemployment rate was 8.3%.

Colombia’s unemployment rate fell to 8.0% in May 2026 from 8.8% in the previous month, remaining below market expectations of 8.9% and marking the lowest reading for the month of May since 2001. The unemployment rate for women stood at 9.9%, while the rate for men was 6.6%, resulting in a gender gap of 3.3 percentage points. The number of unemployed people declined by 203,000 from a year earlier. The sharpest drop was recorded in rural areas and small population centers, where unemployment fell 30.5%, followed by the 13 main cities and metropolitan areas, where it declined 4.4%. For the rolling March–May 2026 period, the national unemployment rate averaged 8.5%.