Unemployment Rate: Venezuela

Analysis# Venezuela Unemployment Rate Venezuela's unemployment rate reached 35.6% in 2018, matching its all-time peak and representing a dramatic deterioration from the 7.4% low recorded in 2008. Over the two-decade period from 1999 to 2018, the rate surged 145.5%, reflecting severe economic stress. For nearly a decade after 2008, unemployment remained relatively stable between 7.5% and 8.5%, suggesting a period of economic stability that would not persist. The data reveals a sharp inflection point beginning in 2014, when the rate climbed to 8% before accelerating dramatically. From 2015 onward, unemployment spiraled upward—jumping to 12.5% in 2015, then 20.9% in 2016, 27.9% in 2017, and finally 35.6% in 2018. This sustained five-year surge indicates deepening structural economic crisis with no sign of reversal within the dataset period.