Number of employees worldwide 1991-2024

Published by
Einar H. Dyvik,
Apr 16, 2024

In 2024, there were estimated to be approximately 3.5 billion people employed worldwide, compared to 2.23 billion people in 1991 - an increase of around 1.3 billion people. There was a noticeable fall in global employment between 2019 and 2020 when the number of employed people fell from 3.3 billion to 3.19 billion due to the sudden economic shock caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Number of employees worldwide from 1991 to 2024 (in billions)

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Release date

December 2023

Region

Worldwide

Survey time period

1991 to 2023

Age group

15 years and older

Special properties

Numbers are estimates

Supplementary notes

The source adds the following information regarding methodology: "The employed comprise all persons of working age who, during a specified brief period, were in one of the following categories: a) paid employment (whether at work or with a job but not at work); or b) self-employment (whether at work or with an enterprise but not at work). The series is part of the ILO modelled estimates and is harmonized to account for differences in national data and scope of coverage, collection and tabulation methodologies as well as for other country-specific factors."

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