Labour · Latin America & Caribbean · Lower-middle income
Venezuela: the labour market
Labour force is 11.1m (2025), 52nd of 187 in the world and 6th of 31 in Latin America & Caribbean. Participation rate is 51.9% (2025), 156th of 187 in the world and 30th of 31 in Latin America & Caribbean. Women's participation is 37.1% (2025), 160th of 187 in the world and 30th of 31 in Latin America & Caribbean.
Labour force
Venezuela
Participation rate
VenezuelaLatin America & CaribbeanLower-middle incomeWorld
13 indicators
Labour: Venezuela 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 | 11.1m2025 | 52/187 | 6/31 | 10.4m | 12.9m | 9.9m | −18%since 2015 | 325m | 1.2bn | 3.7bn | |
| Participation rateLabour force participation, % of 15+ | 51.9%2025 | 156/187 | 30/31 | 64.0% | 63.9% | 48.2% | −9.7 ppsince 2015 | 62.7% | 58.2% | 61.0% | |
| Women's participationFemale labour force participation, % of women 15+ | 37.1%2025 | 160/187 | 30/31 | 47.9% | 49.6% | 36.9% | −11.2 ppsince 2015 | 51.4% | 39.2% | 48.9% | |
| Employment rateEmployment to population ratio, 15+ (ILO) | 49.2%2025 | 148/187 | 28/31 | 55.1% | 59.3% | 44.5% | −8.7 ppsince 2015 | 59.3% | 55.6% | 58.1% | |
| UnemploymentUnemployment, % of labour force (ILO) | 5.3%2025 | 91/187 | 18/31 | 14.0% | 7.1% | 7.5% | −0.8 ppsince 2015 | 5.5% | 4.5% | 4.8% | |
| Female unemploymentFemale unemployment, % of female labour force (ILO) | 5.8%2025 | 93/187 | 20/31 | 14.6% | 7.0% | 7.9% | −0.7 ppsince 2015 | 6.5% | 4.9% | 4.9% | |
| Youth unemploymentYouth unemployment, ages 15–24 (ILO) | 10.4%2025 | 112/187 | 21/31 | 23.4% | 14.2% | 13.6% | −2.9 ppsince 2015 | 12.2% | 13.1% | 13.4% | |
| Youth NEET rateYouth not in education, employment or training, % | 37.1%2020 | 16/170 | 1/28 | · | 18.8% | 37.1% | +18.3 ppsince 2010 | 18.1% | 21.8% | — | |
| Wage workersWage and salaried workers, % of total employment | 59.6%2025 | 109/187 | 21/31 | 59.1% | 63.3% | 60.3% | −5.4 ppsince 2015 | 64.4% | 29.6% | 53.6% | |
| Vulnerable employmentVulnerable employment, % of total employment (ILO) | 37.3%2025 | 73/187 | 9/31 | 35.7% | 33.2% | 36.4% | +5.7 ppsince 2015 | 31.5% | 65.5% | 42.4% | |
| Jobs in agricultureEmployment in agriculture, % of total employment | 8.9%2025 | 115/187 | 19/31 | 10.9% | 8.5% | 9.8% | +2.4 ppsince 2015 | 12.7% | 39.8% | 25.8% | |
| Jobs in industryEmployment in industry, % of total employment | 16.8%2025 | 123/187 | 23/31 | 23.0% | 22.0% | 17.5% | −4.6 ppsince 2015 | 20.5% | 22.4% | 23.7% | |
| Jobs in servicesEmployment in services, % of total employment | 74.4%2025 | 40/187 | 6/31 | 66.1% | 69.5% | 72.7% | +2.1 ppsince 2015 | 66.8% | 37.8% | 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
- Unemployment−0.8 pp5.3% in 2025
- Female unemployment−0.7 pp5.8% in 2025
- Youth unemployment−2.9 pp10.4% in 2025
Worse than ten years ago
- Women's participation−11.2 pp37.1% in 2025
- Employment rate−8.7 pp49.2% in 2025
- Youth NEET rate+18.3 pp37.1% in 2020
- Wage workers−5.4 pp59.6% 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
Venezuela and its neighbours
Countries sharing a land border with Venezuela. Latest values since 2005; the highest in each row is marked.
| Indicator | Venezuela | United States | Brazil | United Kingdom | France | Colombia |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour force | 11.1m2025 | 175m2025 | 108m2025 | 35.4m2025 | 31.9m2025 | 27.1m2025 |
| Participation rate | 51.9%2025 | 61.7%2025 | 63.1%2025 | 61.4%2025 | 55.3%2025 | 63.4%2025 |
| Women's participation | 37.1%2025 | 56.3%2025 | 53.4%2025 | 57.3%2025 | 51.5%2025 | 51.6%2025 |
| Employment rate | 49.2%2025 | 59.1%2025 | 59.4%2025 | 58.5%2025 | 51.2%2025 | 58.1%2025 |
| Unemployment | 5.3%2025 | 4.2%2025 | 6.0%2025 | 4.7%2025 | 7.5%2025 | 8.3%2025 |
| Female unemployment | 5.8%2025 | 4.2%2025 | 7.3%2025 | 4.4%2025 | 7.5%2025 | 10.5%2025 |
| Youth unemployment | 10.4%2025 | 9.3%2025 | 14.0%2025 | 14.6%2025 | 18.9%2025 | 17.7%2025 |
| Youth NEET rate | 37.1%2020 | 11.6%2025 | 18.7%2025 | 14.4%2025 | 11.0%2025 | 22.0%2025 |
| Wage workers | 59.6%2025 | 93.9%2025 | 69.7%2025 | 86.9%2025 | 86.7%2025 | 54.4%2025 |