Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) in Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries)
Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries): Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) was 5.5% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) in Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries), 1991–2025
Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries) recorded 5.5% for unemployment, total (% of total labor force) in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 35 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 7.1% on the previous year and down 18.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, unemployment, total (% of total labor force) in Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries) peaked at 10.4% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 5.5%, in 2025.
That places Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries) 15th out of 47 groups with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.
Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) in Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries), year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 6.2% | — |
| 1992 | 6.2% | -0.4% |
| 1993 | 5.9% | -4.1% |
| 1994 | 6.6% | +11.1% |
| 1995 | 7.9% | +19.6% |
| 1996 | 8.3% | +5.3% |
| 1997 | 8.1% | -1.7% |
| 1998 | 8.5% | +4.7% |
| 1999 | 9.5% | +11.5% |
| 2000 | 9.5% | +0.5% |
| 2001 | 9.1% | -4.0% |
| 2002 | 9.5% | +3.9% |
| 2003 | 9.4% | -1.2% |
| 2004 | 8.9% | -5.4% |
| 2005 | 8.3% | -6.0% |
| 2006 | 7.7% | -7.6% |
| 2007 | 7.3% | -5.1% |
| 2008 | 6.9% | -5.4% |
| 2009 | 7.9% | +14.1% |
| 2010 | 7.3% | -8.0% |
| 2011 | 6.7% | -7.2% |
| 2012 | 6.4% | -4.5% |
| 2013 | 6.4% | -0.6% |
| 2014 | 6.2% | -2.9% |
| 2015 | 6.7% | +8.4% |
| 2016 | 7.8% | +16.2% |
| 2017 | 8.1% | +3.9% |
| 2018 | 8.0% | -1.1% |
| 2019 | 8.1% | +0.9% |
| 2020 | 10.4% | +27.7% |
| 2021 | 9.3% | -10.5% |
| 2022 | 7.0% | -24.3% |
| 2023 | 6.3% | -10.7% |
| 2024 | 5.9% | -5.3% |
| 2025 | 5.5% | -7.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 7.5% | 5.9% | 9.5% | 9 |
| 2000s | 8.5% | 6.9% | 9.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 7.2% | 6.2% | 8.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 7.4% | 5.5% | 10.4% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries)
More education data for Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries)
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 3.22 million (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 62.34 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 60.53 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -0.1513 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0936 units per person (2024)
- Population ages 15-64 67.7% (2025)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 22.3% (2025)
All data for Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries) →
Frequently asked questions
- What is unemployment, total (% of total labor force) in Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries)?
- Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) in Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries) was 5.5% in 2025, according to ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
- What is the highest unemployment, total (% of total labor force) recorded in Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries)?
- The highest recorded value was 10.4% in 2020.
- What is the lowest unemployment, total (% of total labor force) recorded in Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries)?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.5% in 2025.
- How does Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries) rank for unemployment, total (% of total labor force)?
- Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries) ranks 15th out of 47 groups with data for 2025.
- Is unemployment, total (% of total labor force) rising or falling in Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries)?
- Over the last ten years it is down 18.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries) data come from?
- The figures come from ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO), published as part of Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) (modeled ILO estimate). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 35 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Unemployment refers to the share of the labor force that is without work but available for and seeking employment.