El Salvador Unemployment rate (annual) in El Salvador

International Monetary Fund · Annual · Importance

IMF forecast (WEO): 2026: 4.3% 2027: 4.4% 2028: 4.5% 2029: 4.7% 2030: 4.8% 2031: 4.8%
6.5% (1999) ANUAL · % · Annual · CSV
Period%
Jan 1999 6.5%
Jan 1998 7.4%
Jan 1997 8.1%
Jan 1996 7.8%
Jan 1995 7.7%
Jan 1994 7.8%
Jan 1993 10.0%
Jan 1992 9.4%
Jan 1991 8.7%
Jan 1990 10.0%

About this indicator

Source
International Monetary Fund
Frequency
Annual
Release
Published annually, covering the full year and subject to revision.
What it is
Measures the share of El Salvador's labour force that is without a job but available for and seeking work. It is the main labour market indicator, produced by the national statistics office from the household survey.
How it's calculated
Derived from the Multi-Purpose Household Survey as the unemployed over the labour force times 100, following ILO criteria and as an annual average.
Market implications
In a dollarised economy heavily reliant on remittances, employment is a direct gauge of household welfare and domestic demand. The open unemployment rate is low, but the dominant feature is underemployment and informality, which should be watched alongside it.
Limitations
Open unemployment masks the real weakness of employment, marked by informality and underemployment. It is subject to sampling error, seasonality and revisions, and its year-on-year comparability depends on the survey methodology.