Colombia breathes an air of economic relief after the consolidated figures of the labor market at the end of 2025 were revealed. According to the most recent report from the National Administrative Department of Statistics (Dane), the country reached a historical milestone by registering an annual unemployment rate of 8.9%, consolidating itself as the lowest figure reported since 2001.

This result represents a substantial improvement compared to the 10.2% recorded in 2024, evidencing a dynamic recovery in job creation.

The director of Dane, Piedad Urdinola, described December’s behavior as extraordinary, since in that month unemployment fell to 8.0%, the lowest level for the end of the year in almost a decade.

This job boom is explained by the creation of 603,000 new jobs compared to the previous year, driven mainly by the manufacturing industry, which added 510,000 employees, followed by the public administration, health and artistic activities sectors.

In contrast, the agricultural sector was the only one that showed signs of fatigue, losing 42,000 jobs.

A fact that generates optimism is the reduction of the gender gap, which was at its lowest point in the entire historical series. Although unemployment continues to hit women (10.1%) harder than men (6.4%), the difference has narrowed significantly.

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Geographically, Bogotá consolidated itself as the engine of employability with a rate of 6.5%, while regions such as Chocó continue to suffer the rigor of the crisis; Quibdó, despite showing a slight improvement, continues to lead unemployment with a worrying 23.1%.

Finally, the report highlights that not only did the number of jobs increase, but there was a slight improvement in their quality. Labor informality decreased 1.2 percentage points, reaching 55.5%.

Young people also gained ground in this scenario, with the unemployment rate falling to 14.2% in the last quarter of the year.

These indicators suggest that, despite international challenges, the Colombian economy managed to absorb a large amount of labor, removing, for now, the ghosts of a deep crisis in the labor market.

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