Employment by status in Jamaica
Jamaica: Employment by status was 64.2% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Employment by status in Jamaica, 1991–2024
Source: International Labour Organization (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Jamaica recorded 64.2% for employment by status in 2024. That is the highest value across all 34 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.1% on the previous year and up 7.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, employment by status in Jamaica peaked at 64.2% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 56.4%, in 1991.
Jamaica ranks 100th of 186 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 58.7% | 56.4% | 59.9% | 9 |
| 2000s | 61.0% | 58.8% | 63.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 60.0% | 57.8% | 62.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 62.8% | 61.3% | 64.2% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Jamaica
- 97 Armenia 65.7% compare
- 98 Fiji 65.6% compare
- 99 Belize 64.7% compare
- 101 El Salvador 64.0% compare
- 102 Philippines 63.5% compare
- 103 Western Sahara 63.4% compare
More work & labour data for Jamaica
- Legislation on sexual harassment in employment 1 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Women can take the same jobs as men 1 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Criminal sanctions or compensation for workplace sexual harassment 1 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) 82.6% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15+) 69.6% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, female (%) 34.2% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, male (%) 40.7% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, total (%) 37.5% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15 68.5% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15+) 76.3% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is employment by status in Jamaica?
- Employment by status in Jamaica was 64.2% 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 Jamaica?
- The highest recorded value was 64.2% in 2024.
- What is the lowest employment by status recorded in Jamaica?
- The lowest recorded value was 56.4% in 1991.
- How does Jamaica rank for employment by status?
- Jamaica ranks 100th out of 186 countries with data for 2024.
- Is employment by status rising or falling in Jamaica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 7.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Jamaica 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.
Download this data
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.