Number of employees worldwide 2026| Statista

Number of employees worldwide from 1991 to 2026 (in billions)

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Release date

December 2025

More information

Region

Worldwide

Survey time period

1991 to 2026

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."

Citation formats

In 2026, there were estimated to be approximately **** billion people employed worldwide, compared to **** billion people in 1991 - an increase of around *** billion people. There was a noticeable fall in global employment between 2019 and 2020, when the number of employed people fell due to the sudden economic shock caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Formal vs. Informal employment globally

Worldwide, there is a large gap between the informally and formally employed. Most informally employed workers reside in the Global South, especially Africa and Southeast Asia. Moreover, men are slightly more likely to be informally employed than women. The majority of informal work, nearly ** percent, is within the agricultural sector, with domestic work and construction following behind.

Women’s employment

As the number of employees has risen globally, so has the number of employed women. Overall, care roles such as nursing and midwifery have the highest shares of female employees globally. Moreover, while the gender pay gap has shrunk over time, it still exists. As of 2024, the uncontrolled gender pay gap was ****, meaning women made, on average, ** cents per every dollar earned by men.