About Workers in Colombian Cities.

The country's total population in march was 52 million, of which 23.7 million were employed and 2.5 million were unemployed, with an unemployment rate of 9.6%. Of the employed population, 57.2% were in the informal sector. This informal employment rate is higher than the 56.3% rate for the same period last year.

By economic sector, the working population of 23.7 million was concentrated in commerce (4.1 million), agriculture (3.7 million), public administration (2.7 million), and industry (2.6 million). Other sectors included construction (1.7 million), and transportation and warehousing (1.8 million).

The results for Colombian cities show that in Bogotá, the capital city of 8 million inhabitants, 4.3 million were employed and 477.000 were unemployed. The Medellín Metropolitan Area, with a total population of 4.2 million, has 2.1 million workers and 183,000 unemployed. In the Cali Metropolitan Area, with a population of 2.4 million, 1.1 million are employed and 127.000 are unemployed. In the Barranquilla Metropolitan Area, with a population of 2.1 million, 0.9 million are employed and 109.000 are unemployed. In the Bucaramanga Metropolitan Area, with a total population of 1.2 million, 0.6 million are employed and 64.000 are unemployed.

Combining the cities of Bogotá, Medellín, Cali, Barranquilla, and Bucaramanga, the results show that they have a population of 18 million, of which 9 million are employed and 960.000 are unemployed. That is, these five cities, which represent 35% of the country's total population, have 38% of the total number of workers and 38.4% of the total number of unemployed.

The unemployment rate for the month of march, mentioned at the beginning of this article, at 9.6%, is lower than the same month last year, when it reached 11.3%. This unemployment rate is calculated by taking the number of unemployed as a proportion of the population known as the labor force, which is those of working age and ability to work.

By city, those with the lowest unemployment rates are Medellín (7.9%), Villavicencio (9%), Neiva (9.5%), and Bucaramanga (9.7%). Others are Bogotá (10.1%), Cali (10.6%), and Barranquilla (10.8%). However, the cities with the highest unemployment rates are Quibdó (35.6%), Riohacha (17.7%), Florencia (17.2%), Ibagué (15.8%), Cúcuta (14.2%), and Sincelejo (13.9%).

Within the total number of workers, the informal employment rate across cities in the country is not uniform, as the cities with the lowest levels of informal employment are Manizales (35.1%), Pereira (38.2%), Bogotá (38.2%), and Medellín (40%). Other cities are Cali (46.2%) and Cartagena (50.8%). However, the cities with the highest levels of informal employment are Sincelejo (68.9%), Riohacha (64.8%), Valledupar (64.4%), Popayán (62.5%), Montería (61.6%), and Santa Marta (60.9%). Other cities, such as Quibdó and Cúcuta, have a rate of 60%.

With the above results, other observations include the following. While the national unemployment rate decreased year over year in march, the informality rate did not, which increased.

Larger cities, such as Bogotá, Medellín, Cali, Barranquilla, and Bucaramanga, have lower unemployment rates than smaller cities, such as Quibdó, Riohacha, Florencia, Sincelejo, and Cúcuta, which have some of the highest unemployment rates.

Some cities with the highest levels of informal employment, such as Sincelejo, Riohacha, Quibdó, and Cúcuta, also have the highest unemployment rates, while cities like Bogotá, Medellín, and Cali have comparatively low levels of informality and lower unemployment rates.

Public policy, in conjunction with the private sector, requires focusing attention on unemployment and informality in cities other than Bogotá, Medellín, and Cali. Although these issues are necessary there, the situation is more difficult in other cities such as Sincelejo, Riohacha, Quibdó, and Cúcuta.

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Note: Inflation for april will be announced this afternoon, and according to a survey of economic analysts, the result is 4.97%, lower than the March figure of 5.09%. Likewise, they expect 4.5% for the end of the year and 3.7% for 2.026.