September Unemployment Edges Down as Inflation Data Looms

Colombia's unemployment rate dipped slightly in September as the nation awaited upcoming inflation data, according to the National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE). The jobless rate fell to 8% from 8.2% in the same period last year, representing a reduction of 0.2 percentage points. This modest improvement, reported by DANE, suggests a moderately positive employment trend, but questions linger about the economy's potential to maintain job growth. The figures come amidst heightened focus on Colombia's key economic indicators.

As of September, there were approximately 24.25 million people employed in Colombia, an increase of 322,000 compared to the same period in 2025. The employment rate, which represents the share of the working-age population with a job, remained steady at 58.7%, unchanged from the previous year. However, labor force participation declined, a factor that can impact the unemployment rate. In total, about 2.11 million individuals remained unemployed in September, down from roughly 2.13 million in the same month a year prior.

The employment landscape varied across sectors, with wholesale and retail trade, as well as vehicle repair, contributing to job creation by adding 162,000 workers. Manufacturing also expanded by 100,000 jobs, while transportation and storage saw an increase of 84,000 employed people. Conversely, agriculture experienced the most significant decline, with 184,000 fewer people employed compared to September 2025.

Additionally, declines were observed in arts, services, and certain public administration, education, and healthcare sectors.

While the national unemployment rate showed improvement, this progress did not translate uniformly across major urban areas. In Colombia's 13 largest cities and metropolitan regions, unemployment stood at 8.3%, two-tenths of a percentage point higher than the 8.1% recorded in September 2025. The employment rate also declined, falling from 61% to 60.6%, with labor force participation decreasing from 66.4% to 66.1%.

Regional disparities in unemployment were evident, with Quibdó recording the highest rate at 23.4%, followed by Cartagena at 13.7% and Tunja at 13.2%. In contrast, Bogotá had the lowest unemployment rate at 7.6%, with Villavicencio and Medellín at 7.7% and 7.8%, respectively. These disparities underscore the persistent challenges some regions face in generating job opportunities, despite the national improvement in unemployment.