The latest plotted observation compared with the one immediately before it.
Jobs · estimated
Unemployment rate
The share of the labor force without work, available for work, and actively seeking work, using a modeled ILO estimate.
Latest available value4.8%
World · 2025
Change from 2024-0.0 pts
One period comparison, not annualized
Data statusLatest available
Source identifies this concept as estimated
Historical observationsUnemployment in World
4.8%2025
Explain this chart
Economic demand, Industry mix, Labor force participation
This modeled estimate improves comparability but can differ from a country’s headline national measure.
View accessible data table
| Period | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 4.8% | observed |
| 2024 | 4.8% | observed |
| 2023 | 4.8% | observed |
| 2022 | 5.2% | observed |
| 2021 | 6% | observed |
| 2020 | 6.6% | observed |
| 2019 | 5.6% | observed |
| 2018 | 5.8% | observed |
| 2017 | 5.9% | observed |
| 2016 | 6% | observed |
Why it matters
It signals how readily people can find work, but it excludes people who are not counted in the labor force.
People often affected
- Workers
- Families
- Employers
- Governments
- 01Economic demand
- 02Industry mix
- 03Labor force participation
- 04Policy
These are common mechanisms, not claims about what caused the latest movement.
Limits of this data
This modeled estimate improves comparability but can differ from a country’s headline national measure.
Revision status: The API does not expose a revision flag for these observations. Treat recent values as revisable.
Publisher source record
World Bank: World Development Indicators
Series SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS. Snapshot retrieved Aug 17, 2026. Reporting frequency: annual. Seasonal adjustment: modeled ilo estimate.
Series source organization: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO), uri: https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/bulk/, publisher: ILOSTAT, type: external database, date accessed: January 17, 2026
Unemployment refers to the share of the labor force that is without work but available for and seeking employment.
World Economy independently selected, cached, and transformed this WDI subset. The World Bank and upstream source organizations do not endorse this product.