Bahamas, The's unemployment, total (% of total labor force) (national estimate) was 8.15% in 2024, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is down 5.65 percentage points from 13.8% in 2014.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 8.15% | 2024 |
| Five years earlier | 9.34% | 2019 |
| Ten years earlier | 13.8% | 2014 |
| Highest | 21.2% | 1975 |
| Lowest | 6.88% | 2001 |
| Average since 2015 | 10.33% | 2015–2024 |
| First recorded | 8.5% | 1973 |
What the numbers say
In 2024, Bahamas, The's unemployment, total (% of total labor force) (national estimate) fell 2.19 percentage points on 2023 (from 10.35% to 8.15%).
Across the 27 yearly changes before that (1989 to 2023), the average change was −0.04 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.2 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.0 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 5.49 percentage points in 2009 and the biggest yearly fall was 3.93 percentage points in 1990. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.
How it compares
In 2024, Bahamas, The had the 8th highest value of the 23 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Bahamas, The | 8.15% | 2024 |
| World | 5.08% | 2022 |
| Latin America & Caribbean | 5.22% | 2025 |
| High income | 4.5% | 2025 |
Closest to Bahamas, The in the 2024 ranking
- Montenegro — 5th of 23: 11.53%
- Kosovo — 6th of 23: 10.83%
- Albania — 7th of 23: 8.43%
- Iran, Islamic Rep. — 9th of 23: 7.63%
- Barbados — 10th of 23: 6.03%
- Egypt, Arab Rep. — 11th of 23: 5.95%
What this measures
Unemployment refers to the share of the labor force that is without work but available for and seeking employment. Definitions of labor force and unemployment differ by country.
Limitations: The criteria for people considered to be seeking work, and the treatment of people temporarily laid off or seeking work for the first time, vary across countries. In many cases it is especially difficult to measure employment and unemployment in agriculture. The timing of a survey can maximize the effects of seasonal unemployment in agriculture. And informal sector employment is difficult to quantify where informal activities are not tracked.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.
All 37 values
| Year | Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) (national estimate) |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 8.15 |
| 2023 | 10.35 |
| 2022 | no data |
| 2021 | no data |
| 2020 | no data |
| 2019 | 9.34 |
| 2018 | 10 |
| 2017 | 9.8 |
| 2016 | 12.7 |
| 2015 | 12 |
| 2014 |
Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) (national estimate) in nearby economies
- Argentina — 7.38% (2025)
- Barbados — 6.03% (2024)
- Belize — 9.05% (2019)
- Bolivia — 2.52% (2025)
- Brazil — 5.83% (2025)
- Cayman Islands — 4.2% (2015)
- Chile — 8.89% (2025)
- Colombia — 8.43% (2025)
- Costa Rica — 6.34% (2025)
More social protection & labor data for Bahamas, The
- Net migration — 935 (2025)
- Unemployment, female (% of female labor force) (national estimate) — 8.43% (2024)
- Unemployment, male (% of male labor force) (national estimate) — 7.87% (2024)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, female (%) (modeled ILO estimate) — 55.78% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, male (%) (modeled ILO estimate) — 62.53% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, total (%) (modeled ILO estimate) — 59.15% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15-64) (modeled ILO estimate) — 81.39% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15-64) (modeled ILO estimate)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Bahamas, The's unemployment, total (% of total labor force) (national estimate)?
- 8.15% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1973?
- It is down 0.35 percentage points from 8.5% in 1973. The highest value was 21.2% in 1975 and the lowest 6.88% in 2001.
- How does Bahamas, The rank?
- 8th highest of 23 economies with data for 2024.
- Is the latest change in unemployment, total (% of total labor force) (national estimate) unusual for Bahamas, The?
- In 2024, Bahamas, The's unemployment, total (% of total labor force) (national estimate) fell 2.19 percentage points on 2023 (from 10.35% to 8.15%). Across the 27 yearly changes before that (1989 to 2023), the average change was −0.04 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.2 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.0 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SL.UEM.TOTL.NE.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO), uri: https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/bulk/, publisher: ILOSTAT, type: external database, date accessed: September 28, 2026 Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.
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