Cayman Islands's unemployment, total (% of total labor force) (national estimate) was 4.2% in 2015, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 0.66 percentage points from 3.54% in 2005.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 4.2% | 2015 |
| Five years earlier | 6.68% | 2010 |
| Ten years earlier | 3.54% | 2005 |
| Highest | 7.54% | 2001 |
| Lowest | 2.62% | 2006 |
| Average since 2006 | 5.13% | 2006–2015 |
| First recorded | 5.91% | 1991 |
What the numbers say
In 2015, Cayman Islands' unemployment, total (% of total labor force) (national estimate) fell 0.5 percentage points on 2014 (from 4.7% to 4.2%).
Across the 19 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2014), the average change was −0.26 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.09 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 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 2.07 percentage points in 2009 and the biggest yearly fall was 2.18 percentage points in 2002. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2006 to 2015 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 17% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.
Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.
How it compares
See how every economy compares in the full ranking.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Cayman Islands | 4.2% | 2015 |
| World | 5.08% | 2022 |
| Latin America & Caribbean | 5.22% | 2025 |
| High income | 4.5% | 2025 |
Closest to Cayman Islands in the 2015 ranking
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 23 values
| Year | Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) (national estimate) |
|---|---|
| 2015 | 4.2 |
| 2014 | 4.7 |
| 2013 | 6.27 |
| 2012 | 6.21 |
| 2011 | 6.78 |
| 2010 | 6.68 |
| 2009 | 6.04 |
| 2008 | 3.97 |
| 2007 | 3.82 |
| 2006 | 2.62 |
| 2005 |
Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) (national estimate) in nearby economies
- Argentina — 7.38% (2025)
- Bahamas, The — 8.15% (2024)
- Barbados — 6.03% (2024)
- Belize — 9.05% (2019)
- Bolivia — 2.52% (2025)
- Brazil — 5.83% (2025)
- Chile — 8.89% (2025)
- Colombia — 8.43% (2025)
- Costa Rica — 6.34% (2025)
More social protection & labor data for Cayman Islands
- Net migration — 888 (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15+) (national estimate) — 82.8% (2015)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15+) (national estimate) — 81% (2015)
- Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) (national estimate) — 95.74% (2015)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15+) (national estimate) — 84.6% (2015)
- Asylum-seekers by country or territory of asylum — 15 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asylum — 53 (2025)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Cayman Islands's unemployment, total (% of total labor force) (national estimate)?
- 4.2% in 2015, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1991?
- It is down 1.71 percentage points from 5.91% in 1991. The highest value was 7.54% in 2001 and the lowest 2.62% in 2006.
- Is the latest change in unemployment, total (% of total labor force) (national estimate) unusual for Cayman Islands?
- In 2015, Cayman Islands' unemployment, total (% of total labor force) (national estimate) fell 0.5 percentage points on 2014 (from 4.7% to 4.2%). Across the 19 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2014), the average change was −0.26 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.09 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 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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