2024-09-30 21:57:10
According to the most recent report from the National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE), the unemployment rate for August 2024 stood at 9.7%, which represents an increase of 0.4 percentage points compared to 9.3 % registered in the same month of the previous year. This trend raises serious concerns about the reactivation of the labor market in a context of economic slowdown.
Piedad Urdinola, director of DANE, highlighted that the figures are comparable to those reported in years prior to the pandemic. “We have figures very similar to those reported in August 2023 and without statistically significant differences; “They are very similar to those recorded before the pandemic,” he commented. For context, in August 2018, the unemployment rate was 9.4%, while in 2019 it reached 11.2%. During the pandemic, this indicator rose dramatically to 17.4%.
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The report also indicates that, between August 2023 and the same month of 2024, 136,350 people entered the ranks of unemployment. In total, the number of employed people in the country reached 23.41 million people. The economic activities that presented the largest decreases in employment were artistic, entertainment and recreation activities, which fell by 0.8 percentage points; vehicle trade and repair, with a decrease of 0.7 points; and accommodation and food services, with a drop of 0.5 points.
Particularly, the construction sector was affected with the loss of 84,000 jobs, while public administration, defense, education and human health care also faced a decrease of 74,000 people in the labor market. In terms of gender gaps, a decrease of 0.8 percentage points was recorded, going from 4.3 points in August 2023 to 3.5 points in August 2024. The unemployment rate for women decreased by 0.1 points , while in men it increased by 0.7 points.
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The cities with the highest unemployment rates were Quibdó (Chocó), with an alarming 25.5%; Riohacha (La Guajira) with 16.4%; and Ibagué (Tolima) with 15.2%. This panorama is especially worrying for young people, who face an unemployment rate of 17.4% between June and August 2024, which represents an increase of 1.3 percentage points compared to the same period last year.
The problem of labor informality also continues to be a critical issue. As of August of this year, 56% of workers in Colombia were in an informal situation, with a slight increase of 0.1% compared to 55.9% in the same month of 2023. This high level of Informality not only aggravates the employment situation, but also limits workers’ access to social benefits and labor protection.