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Uruguay — Unemployment
Unemployment Rate for Uruguay, 1991–2025.
Latest value · 2025
7.52%
Unemployment Rate · % of total labor force · -16.0% since 1991
Unemployment for Uruguay was 7.52% in 2025, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 35 years, from 1991 to 2025. The highest recorded value was 16.66% in 2003. The lowest was 6.31% in 2011 (about 1.2× the low point). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to -0.51% per year.
Uruguay ranks 59 of 187 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 32%. The median for Latin America & Caribbean is 5.99%, so Uruguay sits above it. It peaked in 2003 and has fallen 55% since. Over the last decade (2015–2025) the figure moved up 0%.
Key figures
Latest (2025)
7.52%
First (1991)
8.95%
Change
-16.0%
Highest
16.66%
in 2003
Lowest
6.31%
in 2011
Average
9.59%
Annual growth (CAGR)
-0.51%
Years of data
35
Recent years
| Year | % of total labor force |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 7.52% |
| 2024 | 8.21% |
| 2023 | 8.36% |
| 2022 | 7.88% |
| 2021 | 9.33% |
| 2020 | 10.41% |
| 2019 | 8.84% |
| 2018 | 8.34% |
| 2017 | 7.89% |
| 2016 | 7.84% |
| 2015 | 7.49% |
| 2014 | 6.55% |
Reading this correctly. Share of the labor force without work but available for and seeking employment. National definitions differ, so cross-country comparison needs care. Figures are in % of total labor force. Comparing this series with a different measure of the same concept (for example a nominal figure against a purchasing-power-parity figure) will give misleading results.
Related data
Source. World Bank Open Data, indicator
SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS — Unemployment Rate. Data licensed under CC BY 4.0. Values are reproduced as published; this page computes the summary statistics (change, CAGR, extremes) from the underlying annual series. View the original dataset on data.worldbank.org.