Labour · Latin America & Caribbean · Upper-middle income
Peru: the labour market
Labour force is 19.2m (2025), 35th of 187 in the world and 5th of 31 in Latin America & Caribbean. Participation rate is 72.9% (2025), 23rd of 187 in the world and 3rd of 31 in Latin America & Caribbean. Women's participation is 65.0% (2025), 24th of 187 in the world and 3rd of 31 in Latin America & Caribbean.
Labour force
Peru
Participation rate
PeruLatin America & CaribbeanUpper-middle incomeWorld
13 indicators
Labour: Peru in detail
Latest reported value, world rank and rank within Latin America & Caribbean; values around 2000, 2010, 2020; group and world columns are World Bank aggregates.
| Indicator | Latest | World rank | In region | ~2000 | ~2010 | ~2020 | 10-year change | Region | Income group | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour forceLabour force, total | 19.2m2025 | 35/187 | 5/31 | 11.4m | 16.3m | 16.9m | +15%since 2015 | 325m | 1.5bn | 3.7bn | |
| Participation rateLabour force participation, % of 15+ | 72.9%2025 | 23/187 | 3/31 | 65.8% | 79.2% | 68.9% | −3.0 ppsince 2015 | 62.7% | 62.7% | 61.0% | |
| Women's participationFemale labour force participation, % of women 15+ | 65.0%2025 | 24/187 | 3/31 | 53.5% | 72.0% | 59.9% | −2.6 ppsince 2015 | 51.4% | 53.4% | 48.9% | |
| Employment rateEmployment to population ratio, 15+ (ILO) | 69.1%2025 | 22/187 | 2/31 | 62.5% | 76.4% | 64.0% | −4.3 ppsince 2015 | 59.3% | 59.5% | 58.1% | |
| UnemploymentUnemployment, % of labour force (ILO) | 5.1%2025 | 95/187 | 19/31 | 5.0% | 3.6% | 7.2% | +1.8 ppsince 2015 | 5.5% | 5.2% | 4.8% | |
| Female unemploymentFemale unemployment, % of female labour force (ILO) | 5.8%2025 | 94/187 | 21/31 | 5.0% | 4.2% | 7.0% | +2.4 ppsince 2015 | 6.5% | 5.1% | 4.9% | |
| Youth unemploymentYouth unemployment, ages 15–24 (ILO) | 9.5%2025 | 123/187 | 23/31 | 5.9% | 6.8% | 12.7% | +2.6 ppsince 2015 | 12.2% | 15.6% | 13.4% | |
| Youth NEET rateYouth not in education, employment or training, % | 22.8%2022 | 60/170 | 8/28 | 19.9% | 15.2% | 25.7% | +7.5 ppsince 2012 | 18.1% | 17.3% | — | |
| Wage workersWage and salaried workers, % of total employment | 48.7%2025 | 130/187 | 28/31 | 35.5% | 42.0% | 44.1% | +3.3 ppsince 2015 | 64.4% | 61.3% | 53.6% | |
| Vulnerable employmentVulnerable employment, % of total employment (ILO) | 47.5%2025 | 57/187 | 4/31 | 59.8% | 53.3% | 53.2% | −4.0 ppsince 2015 | 31.5% | 34.8% | 42.4% | |
| Jobs in agricultureEmployment in agriculture, % of total employment | 23.1%2025 | 76/187 | 6/31 | 31.2% | 24.9% | 31.6% | −1.9 ppsince 2015 | 12.7% | 19.8% | 25.8% | |
| Jobs in industryEmployment in industry, % of total employment | 16.8%2025 | 122/187 | 22/31 | 16.0% | 17.0% | 15.6% | −0.3 ppsince 2015 | 20.5% | 27.7% | 23.7% | |
| Jobs in servicesEmployment in services, % of total employment | 60.1%2025 | 93/187 | 24/31 | 52.8% | 58.1% | 52.8% | +2.2 ppsince 2015 | 66.8% | 52.4% | 50.6% |
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)“·” — no value reported within two years of that date. World rank counts countries with a recent value.
Better than ten years ago
- Wage workers+3.3 pp48.7% in 2025
- Vulnerable employment−4.0 pp47.5% in 2025
Worse than ten years ago
- Women's participation−2.6 pp65.0% in 2025
- Employment rate−4.3 pp69.1% in 2025
- Unemployment+1.8 pp5.1% in 2025
- Female unemployment+2.4 pp5.8% in 2025
Only indicators where higher or lower is clearly better are rated (for example, unemployment down is better, life expectancy up is better).
neighbours
Peru and its neighbours
Countries sharing a land border with Peru. Latest values since 2005; the highest in each row is marked.
| Indicator | Peru | Brazil | Colombia | Chile | Ecuador | Bolivia |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour force | 19.2m2025 | 108m2025 | 27.1m2025 | 10.3m2025 | 9.0m2025 | 7.0m2025 |
| Participation rate | 72.9%2025 | 63.1%2025 | 63.4%2025 | 62.3%2025 | 64.5%2025 | 78.6%2025 |
| Women's participation | 65.0%2025 | 53.4%2025 | 51.6%2025 | 52.9%2025 | 52.4%2025 | 72.9%2025 |
| Employment rate | 69.1%2025 | 59.4%2025 | 58.1%2025 | 56.7%2025 | 62.4%2025 | 76.3%2025 |
| Unemployment | 5.1%2025 | 6.0%2025 | 8.3%2025 | 9.0%2025 | 3.3%2025 | 3.0%2025 |
| Female unemployment | 5.8%2025 | 7.3%2025 | 10.5%2025 | 9.6%2025 | 4.1%2025 | 3.3%2025 |
| Youth unemployment | 9.5%2025 | 14.0%2025 | 17.7%2025 | 21.6%2025 | 8.2%2025 | 5.0%2025 |
| Youth NEET rate | 22.8%2022 | 18.7%2025 | 22.0%2025 | 13.4%2025 | 17.7%2025 | 8.0%2025 |
| Wage workers | 48.7%2025 | 69.7%2025 | 54.4%2025 | 76.1%2025 | 47.7%2025 | 33.7%2025 |