Panama's unemployment, female (% of female labor force) (national estimate) was 10.36% in 2025, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 5.01 percentage points from 5.35% in 2015.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 10.36% | 2025 |
| Five years earlier | 24.67% | 2020 |
| Ten years earlier | 5.35% | 2015 |
| Highest | 24.67% | 2020 |
| Lowest | 2.09% | 2008 |
| Average since 2016 | 10.29% | 2016–2025 |
| First recorded | 7.4% | 1974 |
What the numbers say
In 2025, Panama's unemployment, female (% of female labor force) (national estimate) fell 0.9 percentage points on 2024 (from 11.26% to 10.36%).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was −0.3 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 4.64 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 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 16.68 percentage points in 2020 and the biggest yearly fall was 14.04 percentage points in 2021. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2016 to 2025 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 6% 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
In 2025, Panama had the 9th highest value of the 83 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 | |
|---|---|---|
| Panama | 10.36% | 2025 |
| Latin America & Caribbean | 6.29% | 2025 |
| High income | 4.61% | 2025 |
Closest to Panama in the 2025 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 50 values
| Year | Unemployment, female (% of female labor force) (national estimate) |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 10.36 |
| 2024 | 11.26 |
| 2023 | 8.57 |
| 2022 | 9.83 |
| 2021 | 10.63 |
| 2020 | 24.67 |
| 2019 | 7.99 |
| 2018 | 6.75 |
| 2017 | 6.94 |
| 2016 | 5.9 |
| 2015 |
Unemployment, female (% of female labor force) (national estimate) in nearby economies
- Argentina — 8.2% (2025)
- Bahamas, The — 8.43% (2024)
- Barbados — 5.38% (2024)
- Belize — 13.58% (2019)
- Bolivia — 3.05% (2025)
- Brazil — 7.16% (2025)
- Cayman Islands — 5.2% (2015)
- Chile — 9.56% (2025)
- Colombia — 10.66% (2025)
More social protection & labor data for Panama
- Net migration — 6,151 (2025)
- Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) (national estimate) — 8.31% (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asylum — 2,694 (2025)
- Unemployment, male (% of male labor force) (national estimate) — 6.72% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, female (%) (national estimate) — 33.81% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, male (%) (national estimate) — 51.44% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, total (%) (national estimate) — 42.85% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15+) (national estimate)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Panama's unemployment, female (% of female labor force) (national estimate)?
- 10.36% in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1974?
- It is up 2.96 percentage points from 7.4% in 1974. The highest value was 24.67% in 2020 and the lowest 2.09% in 2008.
- How does Panama rank?
- 9th highest of 83 economies with data for 2025.
- Is the latest change in unemployment, female (% of female labor force) (national estimate) unusual for Panama?
- In 2025, Panama's unemployment, female (% of female labor force) (national estimate) fell 0.9 percentage points on 2024 (from 11.26% to 10.36%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was −0.3 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 4.64 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 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.FE.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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