What is Haiti's unemployment rate?
The 2012 ECVMAS household survey measured unemployment at 14.1 percent; the ILO's modeled estimate for 2025 is 14.9 percent, according to the ILO.
Updated 30 June 2026.
Definition and limits
The rate is the share of the labor force aged fifteen and over without work, available for work and looking for it. The survey points come from four instruments with different questionnaires: the 1999 ECVH living conditions survey at 7.2 percent, the 2003 census at 25.4, the 2007 labor force survey at 16.8 and the 2012 ECVMAS household survey at 14.1. They do not form one series. The ILO's modeled estimates fill the years since from regional patterns and GDP, and rows beyond 2025 are projections. Most work in Haiti is informal, about 3.5 million jobs in 2012. People working a few hours for little pay count as employed, so the rate captures a small part of labor underutilization.
Unemployment rate, survey estimates
percent · 1999 to 2012 · ILO, ILOSTAT
Data
| Period | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 7.2 percent | observed |
| 2003 | 25.4 percent | observed |
| 2007 | 16.8 percent | observed |
| 2012 | 14.1 percent | observed |
From the reports
- On an extended definition that counts discouraged workers, unemployment in 2012 reached about 40 percent of the urban workforce, about 50 percent for urban women and more than 60 percent for urban youth. Labor force participation was about 60 percent of people aged 15 to 64, low for the region and below the 70 percent recorded in the Dominican Republic. Source: World Bank, Investing in People to Fight Poverty in Haiti, 2014
- Employment rates have been stable since 2021, with most jobs in low-productivity informal activity. Source: World Bank, Haiti Macro Poverty Outlook, April 2026
Sources and data
- Unemployment Rate, ILO, ILOSTAT, 1999 to 2012, percent. JSON
- Informal Employment, ILO, ILOSTAT, 2012 only, thousands of people. JSON