OECD unemployment rate at 8.0% in May 2013
The OECD unemployment rate was at 8.0% in May 2013, unchanged for the third consecutive month.
In the euro area, the unemployment rate hit a new record high since the early 90’s - up 0.1 percentage point to 12.2% in May. The gap with the OECD average has considerably widened since the beginning of the global financial crisis, reaching more than 4.0 percentage points in May, as compared to 1.7 percentage points in July 2008.
In May, the unemployment rate increased in the United States (by 0.1 percentage point to 7.6%) while it decreased in Canada (by 0.1 percentage point to 7.1%) and Mexico (by 0.1 percentage point to 5.1%) and was stable in Japan (at 4.1%). More recent data referring to the month of June show that the unemployment rate was stable in both the United States and Canada.
Trends in unemployment rates since the beginning of the global financial crisis have differed across population groups. In May, the OECD unemployment rate for men (unchanged at 8.0%) was 0.9 percentage point below the peak of 8.9% reached in October 2009. By contrast, the OECD unemployment rate for women (down by 0.1 percentage point at 8.0%) was only 0.2 percentage point below its highest level of 8.2% reached in December 2012, having hovered around 8.0% since July 2009. In May 2013, the unemployment rates for men and women were, respectively, 2.1 and 2.0 percentage points above their pre- crisis level in July 2008.
The OECD unemployment rate for youth (down by 0.1 percentage point at 16.3%) was 1.0 percentage point below the peak reached in October 2009, but remained 3.3 percentage points above its pre-crisis level. In May 2013, more than one active youth in three was unemployed in Italy, Portugal and Slovak Republic, and more than one in two in Greece and Spain.
Overall, there were 48.5 million people unemployed in the OECD area in May 2013, 0.1 million more than in April and 13.8 million more than in July 2008.
OECD Harmonised Unemployment Rates, s.a.
Methodological Notes: http://www.oecd.org/std/labourstatistics/44743407.pdf All rates and levels quoted are seasonally adjusted (s.a.).
New Labour Market Statistics: http://stats.oecd.org/index.aspx?queryid=36324
Country Note: The statistical data for Israel are supplied by and under the responsibility of the relevant Israeli authorities. The use of such data by the OECD is without prejudice to the status of the Golan Heights, East Jerusalem
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Euro area United States
Japan OECD Total
4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
All persons Women Men Youth (15-24)
25+
Highest rate since Jul-08 May-13 Jul-08
Table 1: OECD Unemployment Rates, s.a.
Percentage of active population
2010 2011 2012 2012 2013 2012 2013
Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May
OECD - Total 8.3 8.0 8.0 7.9 8.0 8.0 8.1 8.0 8.1 8.1 8.0 8.0 8.0 Major Seven 8.2 7.7 7.4 7.4 7.4 7.3 7.3 7.4 7.4 7.4 7.3 7.2 7.3 European Union 9.7 9.7 10.5 10.4 10.5 10.7 10.9 10.8 10.9 10.9 10.9 11.0 11.0 Euro area 10.1 10.1 11.4 11.3 11.5 11.8 12.1 11.9 12.0 12.1 12.1 12.1 12.2
Australia 5.2 5.1 5.2 5.1 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.6 5.6 5.5
Austria 4.4 4.1 4.4 4.3 4.5 4.6 4.9 4.7 4.9 5.0 4.9 4.8 4.7
Belgium 8.3 7.2 7.6 7.6 7.7 8.0 8.3 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6
Canada (1) 8.0 7.5 7.2 7.3 7.3 7.2 7.1 7.1 7.0 7.0 7.2 7.2 7.1
Chile 8.2 7.1 6.4 6.3 6.2 6.5 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.3 6.4 6.2
Czech Republic 7.3 6.7 7.0 6.9 7.0 7.2 7.2 7.2 7.1 7.2 7.2 7.2 7.2
Denmark 7.5 7.6 7.5 7.9 7.4 7.3 7.1 7.3 7.2 7.1 6.9 7.0 6.8
Estonia 16.9 12.6 10.1 10.0 10.0 9.8 9.3 9.8 9.8 9.3 8.7 8.3
Finland 8.4 7.8 7.7 7.6 7.8 7.9 8.2 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.2 8.3 8.4
France 9.7 9.6 10.3 10.2 10.3 10.6 10.8 10.7 10.8 10.8 10.8 10.8 10.9
Germany 7.1 6.0 5.5 5.5 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.3
Greece 12.6 17.7 24.3 23.9 25.5 26.1 26.6 26.1 26.4 26.7 26.8 Hungary 11.2 11.0 10.9 11.0 10.7 10.9 10.9 11.0 11.1 11.1 10.6 10.5
Iceland 7.6 7.1 6.0 6.1 5.9 5.5 5.5 5.5 5.5 5.5 5.5 5.5 5.5
Ireland 13.9 14.7 14.7 14.9 14.7 14.2 13.7 14.0 13.8 13.7 13.6 13.5 13.6
Israel 6.6 5.6 6.9 6.9 6.8 6.8 6.6 6.8 6.5 6.7 6.6 6.9 6.9
Italy 8.4 8.4 10.7 10.6 10.8 11.3 11.9 11.4 11.9 11.9 11.9 12.0 12.2
Japan 5.1 4.6 4.4 4.4 4.3 4.2 4.2 4.3 4.2 4.3 4.1 4.1 4.1
Korea 3.7 3.4 3.2 3.3 3.1 3.0 3.3 3.0 3.2 3.5 3.2 3.1
Luxembourg 4.6 4.8 5.0 5.1 5.1 5.2 5.4 5.3 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7
Mexico 5.4 5.2 5.0 5.0 4.8 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.2 4.9 4.9 5.2 5.1
Netherlands 4.5 4.5 5.3 5.1 5.3 5.6 6.2 5.8 6.0 6.2 6.4 6.5 6.6
New Zealand 6.5 6.5 6.9 6.8 7.3 6.8 6.2
Norway 3.6 3.3 3.2 3.1 3.1 3.4 3.6 3.5 3.6 3.5 3.7 3.5
Poland 9.7 9.7 10.1 10.0 10.2 10.4 10.6 10.4 10.6 10.6 10.7 10.7 10.7 Portugal 11.0 12.9 15.9 15.6 16.2 17.0 17.6 17.3 17.6 17.6 17.6 17.8 17.6 Slovak Republic 14.5 13.7 14.0 13.9 14.0 14.3 14.2 14.3 14.2 14.2 14.1 14.1 14.2 Slovenia 7.3 8.2 8.9 8.6 9.4 9.5 10.6 9.8 10.3 10.6 10.9 11.1 11.2 Spain 20.1 21.6 25.1 24.7 25.5 26.1 26.5 26.2 26.4 26.5 26.6 26.8 26.9
Sweden 8.6 7.8 8.0 7.9 8.1 8.1 8.2 8.0 8.0 8.2 8.3 8.3 7.9
Switzerland 4.5 4.0 4.2 3.7 4.3 4.4 4.6
Turkey 10.7 8.8 8.2 7.9 8.1 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.4 8.3 8.4
United Kingdom 7.8 8.0 7.9 7.9 7.8 7.7 7.8 7.7 7.9 7.7 7.7 United States (2) 9.6 9.0 8.1 8.2 8.0 7.8 7.7 7.8 7.9 7.7 7.6 7.5 7.6
Notes:
(1) Canada: Unemployment rate for June 2013 was 7.1%
Table 2: Unemployment Rates by Gender, s.a.
Percentage of corresponding active population
Women Men
2012 2012 2013 2013 2012 2012 2013 2013
Q4 Q1 Mar Apr May Q4 Q1 Mar Apr May
OECD - Total 8.1 8.1 8.2 8.1 8.1 8.0 7.9 7.9 8.0 7.9 8.0 8.0 Major Seven 7.3 7.2 7.3 7.2 7.1 7.0 7.5 7.4 7.4 7.3 7.4 7.4 European Union 10.5 10.8 11.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 10.4 10.7 10.9 10.9 10.9 10.9 Euro area 11.6 12.0 12.2 12.3 12.3 12.3 11.2 11.7 11.9 11.9 12.0 12.0
Australia 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.5 5.6 5.6 5.2 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.5 5.5
Austria 4.3 4.3 4.7 4.8 4.9 4.7 4.4 4.9 5.1 4.9 4.8 4.8
Belgium 7.4 7.5 7.9 8.0 8.1 8.2 7.7 8.4 8.7 8.8 8.9 9.0
Canada 6.8 6.7 6.8 7.0 6.7 6.6 7.7 7.7 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.5
Chile 7.9 7.8 7.3 7.5 7.2 5.4 5.7 5.6 5.7 5.6
Czech Republic 8.2 8.4 8.4 8.4 8.4 8.5 6.0 6.2 6.3 6.3 6.2 6.1
Denmark 7.5 7.4 7.4 7.2 7.1 7.0 7.5 7.3 6.9 6.7 6.8 6.5
Estonia 9.2 8.8 8.8 8.8 8.4 11.0 10.7 9.8 8.6 8.2
Finland 7.1 7.3 7.4 7.4 7.5 7.5 8.3 8.5 8.8 9.0 9.1 9.2
France 10.5 10.7 10.9 10.9 10.9 11.0 10.1 10.5 10.7 10.7 10.7 10.8
Germany 5.2 5.1 5.1 5.1 5.0 5.0 5.7 5.6 5.7 5.7 5.7 5.6
Greece 28.1 29.9 30.3 30.4 21.4 23.2 23.8 24.1 Hungary 10.7 10.7 10.6 10.4 10.5 11.2 11.2 11.2 10.8 10.4
Iceland 5.7 5.1 5.3 5.4 5.3 5.3 6.4 5.9 5.7 5.6 5.6 5.6
Ireland 11.0 10.9 11.1 11.2 11.0 11.2 17.7 17.0 15.8 15.6 15.5 15.6
Israel 7.0 6.8 6.5 6.4 6.8 7.0 6.8 6.9 6.7 6.7 7.0 6.8
Italy 11.9 12.5 13.1 13.1 13.2 13.2 9.9 10.5 11.1 11.0 11.2 11.5
Japan 4.0 4.0 3.7 3.5 3.8 3.9 4.6 4.4 4.6 4.5 4.3 4.2
Korea 3.0 2.7 3.0 3.0 2.9 3.4 3.2 3.5 3.3 3.2
Luxembourg 5.8 5.8 6.2 6.4 6.5 6.6 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.8 4.9
Mexico 5.0 5.2 5.2 5.1 5.0 5.0 4.9 4.9 4.9 4.8 5.2 5.2
Netherlands 5.2 5.4 5.8 6.0 6.0 6.1 5.3 5.8 6.6 6.8 6.9 7.1
New Zealand 7.3 7.6 6.9 6.5 6.2 5.5
Norway 2.8 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.2 3.6 3.7 3.9 3.9 3.8
Poland 10.9 11.2 11.5 11.5 11.5 11.5 9.4 9.7 9.9 10.0 10.1 10.1 Portugal 15.9 17.1 17.3 17.3 17.5 17.4 16.0 17.0 17.9 18.0 18.0 17.8 Slovak Republic 14.5 14.9 14.8 14.9 14.9 15.1 13.5 13.9 13.6 13.5 13.5 13.6 Slovenia 9.4 9.9 11.2 11.7 12.1 12.4 8.4 9.2 10.1 10.3 10.3 10.3 Spain 25.4 26.6 27.0 27.2 27.4 27.6 24.8 25.8 26.1 26.2 26.3 26.3
Sweden 7.7 7.9 7.9 8.3 7.8 7.7 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.4 8.8 8.1
Switzerland 4.5 4.7 4.8 3.9 4.1 4.5
Turkey 9.4 9.9 9.9 9.9 7.6 7.6 7.7 7.7
United Kingdom 7.4 7.2 7.2 7.2 8.3 8.1 8.2 8.1
United States 7.9 7.7 7.7 7.6 7.3 7.1 8.2 7.9 7.8 7.6 7.7 7.9
Table 3: Unemployment Rates by Age, s.a.
Percentage of corresponding active population
Youth (15-24) Prime and Older Workers (25+)
2012 2012 2013 2013 2012 2012 2013 2013
Q4 Q1 Mar Apr May Q4 Q1 Mar Apr May
OECD - Total 16.2 16.4 16.5 16.4 16.4 16.3 6.8 6.8 6.9 6.9 6.8 6.9 Major Seven 16.1 16.0 16.1 16.0 16.0 16.0 6.3 6.2 6.2 6.1 6.1 6.1 European Union 22.9 23.3 23.4 23.3 23.3 23.1 9.1 9.3 9.6 9.6 9.6 9.7 Euro area 23.1 23.9 24.1 24.0 24.0 23.9 10.1 10.6 10.8 10.9 10.9 11.0
Australia 11.7 12.0 11.9 12.0 11.6 11.6 3.9 4.0 4.1 4.3 4.3 4.3
Austria 8.7 8.7 8.8 7.9 8.2 8.7 3.6 3.9 4.3 4.4 4.3 4.1
Belgium 19.7 21.4 22.1 22.4 22.6 22.7 6.4 6.7 7.0 7.2 7.2 7.3 Canada 14.3 14.2 13.8 14.2 14.5 13.6 6.0 6.0 5.9 6.0 5.9 5.9 Chile 16.3 16.9 16.9 16.9 16.8 4.9 5.0 4.7 4.9 4.7 Czech Republic 19.5 19.5 19.2 19.4 19.5 18.7 6.0 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.2 6.3 Denmark 14.1 14.0 12.6 12.0 12.0 11.6 6.3 6.1 6.1 6.0 6.1 5.9 Estonia 20.9 19.0 20.4 19.2 17.4 8.9 8.7 8.1 7.6 7.3 Finland 18.9 19.5 20.3 20.4 20.7 20.9 6.1 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.5 6.6 France 24.6 26.1 26.2 25.8 25.5 25.3 8.7 8.9 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.3
Germany 8.1 8.0 7.7 7.7 7.6 7.6 5.2 5.1 5.1 5.1 5.1 5.1
Greece 55.3 58.0 60.1 59.2 22.2 24.0 24.4 24.6 Hungary 28.3 28.8 28.7 27.5 27.6 9.7 9.6 9.6 9.3 9.2 Iceland 13.7 11.6 11.5 11.6 11.8 11.9 4.5 4.2 4.2 4.2 4.2 4.1 Ireland 30.3 28.9 28.0 27.1 26.1 26.3 12.9 12.6 12.1 12.1 12.1 12.3 Israel 12.1 11.9 10.9 10.8 10.6 9.8 5.8 6.1 5.7 5.4 5.7 5.6 Italy 35.2 37.4 39.2 39.9 39.9 38.5 8.9 9.5 10.0 10.0
Japan 8.1 7.2 6.8 6.5 8.1 7.1 4.0 3.9 4.0 3.9 3.8 3.9
Korea 9.0 8.5 9.1 9.6 10.2 2.8 2.6 2.9 2.7 2.6
Luxembourg 18.1 18.8 19.5 20.0 19.4 19.4 4.1 4.2 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7
Mexico 9.5 9.5 9.8 9.6 9.6 9.4 3.8 3.9 3.9 3.8 4.1 4.1
Netherlands 9.5 9.8 10.4 10.5 10.6 10.6 4.5 4.8 5.4 5.6 5.7 5.9
New Zealand 17.6 19.2 15.1 4.9 4.5 4.5
Norway 8.6 9.6 9.5 9.3 8.5 2.3 2.4 2.6 2.7 2.7
Poland 26.5 27.5 27.6 27.5 27.6 27.5 8.5 8.7 9.0 9.1 9.1 9.1 Portugal 37.7 38.7 40.6 41.0 42.3 42.1 14.0 15.2 15.8 15.7 15.7 15.5 Slovak Republic 34.0 35.1 34.1 34.0 34.1 34.6 12.2 12.5 12.4 12.3 12.3 12.4 Slovenia 20.5 23.2 21.7 21.7 7.9 8.4 9.8 10.1 10.2 10.3 Spain 53.2 55.2 55.7 55.8 56.2 56.5 22.7 23.7 24.1 24.3 24.4 24.5 Sweden 23.6 24.1 24.3 25.0 24.5 23.4 5.7 5.8 5.8 5.8 5.9 5.6
Switzerland 6.1 9.2 8.4 3.5 3.6 4.0
Turkey 15.7 16.5 16.7 16.6 6.7 6.8 6.8 6.8
United Kingdom 21.0 20.6 20.5 20.2 5.7 5.5 5.7 5.6
United States 16.2 16.0 16.4 16.2 16.1 16.3 6.8 6.5 6.4 6.2 6.1 6.2
Table 4: Unemployment Levels, s.a.
Thousands of persons
2011 2012 2012 2013 2013
Q3 Q4 Q1 Feb Mar Apr May
OECD - Total 47,278 47,833 47,899 48,247 48,634 48,682 48,283 48,380 48,518 Major Seven 28,097 27,309 27,189 27,085 27,180 27,229 26,802 26,762 26,892 European Union 23,140 25,260 25,478 25,965 26,423 26,431 26,443 26,507 26,522 Euro area 16,017 18,074 18,324 18,786 19,174 19,180 19,211 19,273 19,340
Australia 611 636 644 654 672 663 688 687 683
Austria 179 189 196 200 216 219 213 212 207
Belgium 347 369 375 391 409 408 415 421 425
Canada 1,393 1,368 1,379 1,373 1,343 1,333 1,375 1,362 1,348
Chile 574 524 508 531 519 519 530 518
Czech Republic 351 367 368 379 381 382 384 381 380
Denmark 221 219 215 213 205 206 199 200 194
Estonia 87 70 70 68 64 65 60 58
Finland 209 207 210 213 219 219 221 223 225
France 2,800 3,015 3,028 3,127 3,186 3,186 3,186 3,193 3,205 Germany 2,501 2,316 2,300 2,293 2,299 2,301 2,295 2,284 2,269
Greece 877 1,204 1,270 1,297 1,305 1,304 1,309
Hungary 470 476 468 477 478 485 463 458
Iceland 13 11 10 10 10 10 10 10 10
Ireland 317 316 316 305 293 293 291 288 292
Israel 180 247 247 249 241 246 240 254 253
Italy 2,103 2,746 2,762 2,914 3,064 3,062 3,064 3,084 3,140 Japan 3,018 2,848 2,803 2,750 2,767 2,840 2,670 2,710 2,700
Korea 855 820 794 764 837 891 813 792
Luxembourg 12 13 13 13 14 14 14 14 14
Mexico 2,540 2,496 2,450 2,532 2,521 2,477 2,486 2,620 2,654
Netherlands 389 468 473 504 553 550 573 580 594
New Zealand 155 165 174 161 146
Norway 87 86 84 92 97 95 99 95
Poland 1,659 1,749 1,766 1,797 1,837 1,838 1,844 1,853 1,846
Portugal 706 860 878 914 935 935 934 941 932
Slovak Republic 363 378 380 386 386 387 385 386 389
Slovenia 83 90 95 96 106 106 109 110 111
Spain 4,999 5,769 5,891 5,995 6,048 6,053 6,064 6,087 6,085
Sweden 389 402 407 414 416 416 427 425 404
Switzerland 184 193 200 203 215
Turkey 2,328 2,201 2,207 2,304 2,331 2,312 2,348
United Kingdom 2,534 2,511 2,480 2,463 2,486 2,475 2,470 United States 13,747 12,506 12,437 12,165 12,035 12,032 11,742 11,659 11,760
