Labor Market Monitor February 2026

We are sharing the latest edition of the Labor Monitor, with updated data as of February 2026 and an analysis specifically focused on labor demand linked to Global Services in Uruguay.

First section: monthly results

Labor demand rebounded in February, after adjusting for the “calendar effect.”

Due to Carnival holidays and the difference in the number of days compared to January, the overall volume of demand decreased. However, when isolating this effect, the labor market regained momentum across most sectors, growing by 5% compared to January.

There was a strong boost in education (back-to-school season) and construction (resumption of works after the mandatory leave period), while labor demand declined in tourism-related activities following January’s “peak.”

On the other hand, the year-on-year variation was -2%, the first decline since March 2024, making it an indicator worth monitoring throughout 2026.

Focus topic: Global Services in Uruguay

In order to analyze the evolution of labor demand associated with Global Services in Uruguay, we built a sample of 95 Global Services companies established in the country, including the top 50 hiring companies (those that have generated the highest number of job opportunities since 2019 through the channels monitored by Advice’s Labor Monitor), totaling more than 13,500 job opportunities on which this analysis is based.

What do the data show?

After very strong growth in 2020–2022 driven by the pandemic (global demand for software services and accelerated digitalization of business processes), job opportunities stopped growing. Over the past 12 months up to February, the data show a stagnation in labor demand.

This is mainly linked to two trends, which are further developed in the report:

• Loss of competitiveness: for global companies, hiring in Uruguay has become more expensive.
• Intelligent automation: end-to-end process redesign using AI to improve efficiency and reduce costs. Call centers, software development, and testing are already demanding fewer workers than they did a year ago.