Employment in South America
South America: Employment was 206,717 in 2025. β² Rising
Employment in South America, 2000β2025
Source: International Labour Organization.
Analysis
South America recorded 206,717 for employment in 2025. That is the highest value across all 26 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.5% on the previous year and up 11.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, employment in South America peaked at 206,717 in 2025 and was at its lowest, 137,604, in 2000.
That places South America 42nd out of 87 groups with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 155,824 | 137,604 | 172,403 | 10 |
| 2010s | 183,840 | 175,038 | 191,424 | 10 |
| 2020s | 194,620 | 174,957 | 206,717 | 6 |
Countries ranked near South America
- 39 Uzbekistan, Republic of 13,220 compare
- 40 Madagascar, Republic of 11,880 compare
- 41 CΓ΄te d'Ivoire 11,586 compare
- 42 Taiwan Province of China 11,504 compare
- 43 Algeria 10,858 compare
- 44 Morocco 10,749 compare
- 45 Netherlands 9,899 compare
More work & labour data for South America
- Population - Est. & Proj. β Total Population - Both sexes 379,097 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. β Total Population - Male 188,449 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. β Total Population - Female 190,649 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. β Rural population 49,401 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. β Urban population 450,619 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. β Urban population, annual growth rate 0.3248 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. β Rural population, annual growth rate -1.47 % change on previous year (2050)
- Manufacturing employment as a proportion of total employment - 13th 10.7% (2025)
- Unemployment rate, by sex and age - 13th ICLS 6.2% (2025)
- Level of national compliance with labour rights (freedom of) 4.13 score (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is employment in South America?
- Employment in South America was 206,717 in 2025, according to International Labour Organization.
- What is the highest employment recorded in South America?
- The highest recorded value was 206,717 in 2025.
- What is the lowest employment recorded in South America?
- The lowest recorded value was 137,604 in 2000.
- How does South America rank for employment?
- South America ranks 42nd out of 87 groups with data for 2025.
- Is employment rising or falling in South America?
- Over the last ten years it is up 11.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South America data come from?
- The figures come from International Labour Organization, published as part of Employment (previous ILO definition - ICLS13). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV Β· JSON β 26 observations, free to reuse under ILO Terms of Use (attribution required).