Employment by status in Barbados
Barbados: Employment by status was 80.2% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Employment by status in Barbados, 1991–2024
Source: International Labour Organization (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, employment by status in Barbados stood at 80.2%.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.2% on the previous year and down 3.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, employment by status in Barbados peaked at 87.7% in 1997 and was at its lowest, 79.4%, in 2019.
Barbados ranks 60th of 186 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 34 years of available data.
Employment by status in Barbados, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 87.3% | — |
| 1992 | 87.0% | -0.3% |
| 1993 | 85.8% | -1.3% |
| 1994 | 87.0% | +1.3% |
| 1995 | 87.0% | +0.1% |
| 1996 | 87.2% | +0.1% |
| 1997 | 87.7% | +0.6% |
| 1998 | 87.3% | -0.5% |
| 1999 | 85.9% | -1.6% |
| 2000 | 87.2% | +1.5% |
| 2001 | 85.9% | -1.6% |
| 2002 | 85.9% | -0.0% |
| 2003 | 85.5% | -0.4% |
| 2004 | 84.7% | -1.0% |
| 2005 | 84.6% | -0.2% |
| 2006 | 84.5% | -0.1% |
| 2007 | 84.3% | -0.2% |
| 2008 | 84.1% | -0.2% |
| 2009 | 83.8% | -0.3% |
| 2010 | 83.5% | -0.4% |
| 2011 | 83.3% | -0.3% |
| 2012 | 82.9% | -0.4% |
| 2013 | 82.7% | -0.3% |
| 2014 | 82.8% | +0.2% |
| 2015 | 83.0% | +0.2% |
| 2016 | 81.8% | -1.4% |
| 2017 | 80.4% | -1.8% |
| 2018 | 79.7% | -0.8% |
| 2019 | 79.4% | -0.3% |
| 2020 | 79.8% | +0.5% |
| 2021 | 80.5% | +0.8% |
| 2022 | 80.3% | -0.3% |
| 2023 | 80.0% | -0.3% |
| 2024 | 80.2% | +0.2% |
Barbados compared with similar countries
- Barbados's 80.2% is below the median for high income countries, which is 86.7%, 92% of the median. (62 countries reporting)
- Barbados's 80.2% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 68.4%, 1.2× the median. (31 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 86.9% | 85.8% | 87.7% | 9 |
| 2000s | 85.0% | 83.8% | 87.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 82.0% | 79.4% | 83.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 80.2% | 79.8% | 80.5% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Barbados
More work & labour data for Barbados
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual -0.7079 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth -0.6853 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth -0.7302 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -0.9854 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 0.8257 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 114.42 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 165.89 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 97.75 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 96.95 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 194.7 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is employment by status in Barbados?
- Employment by status in Barbados was 80.2% in 2024, according to International Labour Organization (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest employment by status recorded in Barbados?
- The highest recorded value was 87.7% in 1997.
- What is the lowest employment by status recorded in Barbados?
- The lowest recorded value was 79.4% in 2019.
- How does Barbados rank for employment by status?
- Barbados ranks 60th out of 186 countries with data for 2024.
- Is employment by status rising or falling in Barbados?
- Over the last ten years it is down 3.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Barbados data come from?
- The figures come from International Labour Organization (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Employment by status. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 34 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of people in employment working as employees, as a percentage of total employment.