OECD employment rate at 65.1% in second quarter of 2013, 1.4 percentage points below its pre-crisis level

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Paris, 15 October 2013

OECD Quarterly Employment Situation News Release: 2^nd Quarter 2013

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OECD employment rate at 65.1% in second quarter of 2013, 1.4 percentage points below its pre-crisis level

The OECD area employment rate – defined as the share of people of working-age who are employed – was 65.1% in the second quarter of 2013, 0.1 percentage point higher than in the previous quarter. This was still 1.4 percentage points below the level recorded in the second quarter of 2008, the quarter preceding the start of the global financial crisis.

In the euro area, the employment rate fell in the second quarter of 2013 (by 0.1 percentage point to 63.4%) compared with the previous quarter. This masks divergent patterns across the three major euro-area economies: the employment rate fell in Italy (by 0.5 percentage point to 55.5%); it rose in Germany (up 0.2 percentage point to 73.3%);

and was stable in France (at 64.0%). Among other major seven countries, the employment rate increased in Japan (up 0.3 percentage point to 71.5%), the United Kingdom (up 0.1 percentage points to 70.5%) and Canada (up 0.1 percentage points to 72.6%). It was stable in the United States (at 67.3%).

Among other OECD countries, compared with the first quarter of 2013, the employment rate in the second quarter fell most in Greece (by 0.5 percentage point), Slovenia (by 0.4 percentage point), the Netherlands (by 0.3 percentage point) and Turkey (by 0.3 percentage point). On the other hand, the employment rate showed a significant increase in Hungary (up 0.8 percentage point), Iceland (up 0.8 percentage point) and the Czech Republic (up 0.5 percentage point). It also increased in Portugal (up 0.3 percentage point) after 9 consecutive quarters of decrease.

The OECD employment rate increased for all population groups in the second quarter of 2013. However, the employment rate for youth was still 0.2 percentage point lower than one year ago, while it was 0.8 percentage points higher for older workers and unchanged for prime age workers.

Methodological Notes: http://www.oecd.org/std/labourstatistics/50273955.pdf All rates and levels quoted are seasonally adjusted (s.a.).

New Quarterly Labour Market Statistics: http://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=STLABOUR

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 and Israeli settlements in the West Bank under the terms of international law.

Contacts: For further information readers are invited to contact the OECD's Media Relations Division on (33) 1 45 24 97 00 or e-mail [email protected]

For technical questions contact [email protected] Next release: January 2014

63 65 67 69 71 73

Q2-2008 Q3-2008 Q4-2008 Q1-2009 Q2-2009 Q3-2009 Q4-2009 Q1-2010 Q2-2010 Q3-2010 Q4-2010 Q1-2011 Q2-2011 Q3-2011 Q4-2011 Q1-2012 Q2-2012 Q3-2012 Q4-2012 Q1-2013 Q2-2013

Employment rates

Employment as a percentage of the working- age population

OECD Euro area Japan*

United States Canada

* Note: statistical breaks in Q1-2011 and Q3-2011

-0.4 -0.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0

All persons

Men Women Youth Prime-age workers

Older workers

Change in OECD employment rates Percentage points

Q1-2013 to Q2-2013 Q2 2012 to Q2-2013

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Table 1: OECD Employment Rates and Levels (15-64), s.a.

Employment as a percentage of corresponding working age population and levels

Employment rates Levels

2009 2010 2011 2012 2008 2012 2013 _Thousands

Q2 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q2 - 2013

OECD - Total 64.7 64.5 64.8 65.0 66.5 64.9 65.0 65.0 65.1 65.0 65.1 531,040 Major Seven 67.7 67.3 67.5 67.7 69.6 67.6 67.7 67.8 67.9 67.9 68.0 325,779 European Union 64.5 64.0 64.2 64.1 65.8 64.1 64.0 64.0 64.1 64.0 63.9 212,304 Euro area 64.5 64.1 64.3 63.8 65.9 64.0 63.8 63.8 63.6 63.5 63.4 137,061

Australia 72.0 72.4 72.7 72.3 73.3 72.4 72.4 72.3 72.3 72.3 72.2 11,247 Austria 71.6 71.7 72.1 72.5 72.3 72.4 72.6 72.6 72.4 72.1 72.4 4,097 Belgium 61.6 62.0 61.9 61.8 62.2 61.9 61.8 62.1 61.7 61.6 61.9 4,492 Canada 71.5 71.5 72.0 72.2 73.7 72.0 72.2 72.2 72.5 72.5 72.6 17,096 Chile 56.1 59.3 61.3 61.8 57.2 61.7 61.8 61.9 61.8 62.1 62.3 7,286 Czech Republic 65.4 65.0 65.7 66.6 66.7 66.1 66.4 66.8 66.9 67.3 67.8 4,857 Denmark 75.4 73.4 73.2 72.6 78.1 73.0 72.6 72.2 72.5 72.7 72.8 2,633 Estonia 63.6 61.0 65.1 67.1 69.9 66.5 67.4 67.7 66.9 67.9 69.0 621 Finland 68.7 68.2 69.0 69.4 71.2 69.4 69.3 69.5 69.2 69.0 69.2 2,414 France 64.0 63.9 63.9 63.9 64.8 63.8 63.9 63.9 64.0 64.0 64.0 25,504 Germany 70.3 71.1 72.5 72.8 69.8 72.6 72.8 73.0 73.1 73.1 73.3 39,622 Greece 61.3 59.6 55.6 51.3 62.0 52.8 51.4 50.5 50.4 49.7 49.2 3,567 Hungary 55.4 55.4 55.8 57.2 56.5 56.5 57.1 57.7 57.6 57.4 58.2 3,899 Iceland 78.3 78.2 78.5 79.7 84.4 78.6 80.0 80.3 80.0 80.0 80.8 164 Ireland 61.9 59.7 58.9 58.9 68.3 58.7 58.6 58.9 59.3 59.6 59.9 1,815 Israel 59.2 60.2 60.9 66.5 59.9 66.0 66.2 67.1 66.7 66.9 66.7 3,271 Italy 57.5 56.9 57.0 56.8 58.8 57.0 56.9 56.7 56.4 56.0 55.5 21,950 Japan 70.5 70.6 71.1 70.6 70.9 70.3 70.5 70.7 70.9 71.2 71.5 56,767 Korea 62.9 63.3 63.8 64.2 63.9 64.3 64.2 64.3 64.1 64.1 64.2 23,093 Luxembourg 65.2 65.2 64.6 65.9 63.9 64.8 66.0 66.3 66.2 65.6 65.7 237 Mexico 59.8 59.7 60.0 60.9 61.2 60.5 61.2 61.2 60.5 60.4

Netherlands 77.0 74.7 74.9 75.1 77.1 75.2 75.1 75.1 74.9 74.7 74.4 8,196 New Zealand 72.9 72.3 72.6 72.2 74.9 72.9 72.4 72.1 71.3 72.7 72.8 2,126 Norway 76.4 75.3 75.3 75.8 78.1 75.8 75.9 75.7 75.5 75.4 75.3 2,515 Poland 59.4 59.0 59.3 59.7 59.1 59.6 59.7 59.7 59.7 59.6 59.8 15,284 Portugal 66.3 65.6 64.2 61.8 68.5 62.6 62.2 61.9 60.5 60.2 60.5 4,225 Slovak Republic 60.2 58.8 59.3 59.7 61.9 59.9 59.9 59.8 59.3 60.1 60.0 2,320 Slovenia 67.5 66.2 64.4 64.1 68.2 64.9 63.8 63.6 64.1 63.3 62.9 887 Spain 59.8 58.6 57.7 55.4 64.9 56.3 55.6 55.0 54.6 54.5 54.3 16,578 Sweden 72.2 72.2 73.6 73.8 74.4 73.6 73.8 73.8 73.9 74.1 74.2 4,543 Switzerland 79.0 78.6 79.4 79.4 79.5 79.0 79.3 79.8 79.6 79.4 79.4 4,294 Turkey 44.2 46.3 48.4 48.9 45.2 48.4 48.8 48.7 49.7 50.0 49.7 24,899 United Kingdom 69.9 69.5 69.5 70.1 71.8 69.7 70.0 70.3 70.6 70.4 70.5 28,675 United States 67.6 66.7 66.6 67.1 71.2 67.0 67.1 67.1 67.3 67.3 67.3 136,165

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Table 2: OECD Employment Rates (15-64) by Gender, s.a.

Employment as a percentage of corresponding working age population

Women Men

2012 2008 2012 2013 2012 2008 2012 2013

Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2

OECD - Total 57.0 57.6 57.1 57.2 57.2 57.3 73.1 75.7 73.1 73.1 73.0 73.1 Major Seven 61.7 62.8 61.8 62.0 62.1 62.2 73.8 76.5 73.8 74.0 73.8 73.9 European Union 58.5 58.8 58.5 58.6 58.6 58.6 69.6 72.8 69.6 69.5 69.4 69.3 Euro area 58.1 58.4 58.2 58.1 58.1 58.0 69.5 73.4 69.4 69.1 68.9 68.9

Australia 66.6 66.9 66.6 66.5 66.7 66.6 78.1 79.8 78.0 78.1 78.0 77.9 Austria 67.3 65.8 67.3 67.4 67.2 67.8 77.8 78.7 77.9 77.4 77.0 77.1 Belgium 56.8 55.8 57.2 57.4 56.7 56.8 66.9 68.5 66.9 66.0 66.5 66.9 Canada 69.2 70.1 69.2 69.6 69.7 69.6 75.2 77.4 75.1 75.4 75.4 75.5 Chile 50.2 41.9 50.5 50.2 50.8 51.1 73.6 72.5 73.5 73.6 73.6 73.7 Czech Republic 58.3 57.8 58.5 58.7 59.1 59.6 74.6 75.4 74.9 74.8 75.3 75.8 Denmark 70.0 73.9 69.6 69.6 69.7 70.3 75.2 82.1 74.6 75.3 75.6 75.3 Estonia 64.7 65.9 64.9 63.8 65.2 65.7 69.7 74.2 70.8 70.2 70.8 72.5 Finland 68.2 69.0 68.6 67.9 68.1 68.2 70.6 73.4 70.4 70.5 69.9 70.2 France 60.0 60.2 59.9 60.2 60.1 60.3 68.0 69.6 68.0 68.0 67.9 67.9 Germany 68.0 64.0 68.1 68.4 68.5 68.6 77.6 75.6 77.7 77.7 77.6 77.9 Greece 41.9 48.8 41.2 41.3 40.5 40.0 60.7 75.3 59.7 59.5 58.9 58.2 Hungary 52.1 50.2 52.7 52.3 52.2 52.4 62.5 63.0 62.8 63.1 62.8 64.3 Iceland 77.9 79.8 78.1 78.9 77.6 78.6 81.5 88.7 82.3 81.0 82.2 83.0 Ireland 55.1 60.7 55.1 55.3 55.4 55.5 62.7 75.7 62.7 63.3 64.0 64.4 Israel 62.4 55.6 63.4 62.8 62.7 62.9 70.7 64.3 70.8 70.7 71.1 70.5 Italy 47.1 47.2 47.1 46.9 46.7 46.4 66.5 70.5 66.4 66.0 65.3 64.7 Japan 60.7 60.0 60.8 61.1 62.0 62.1 80.3 81.8 80.4 80.6 80.4 80.8 Korea 53.5 53.3 53.5 53.4 53.5 53.7 74.9 74.5 75.0 74.8 74.6 74.7 Luxembourg 59.0 55.1 59.7 59.6 59.5 60.1 72.5 72.4 72.7 72.7 71.6 71.2 Mexico 44.8 44.0 45.2 44.5 44.3 78.5 80.5 78.8 78.1 78.1 Netherlands 70.4 70.9 70.6 70.5 70.3 70.0 79.8 83.3 79.6 79.2 79.1 78.7 New Zealand 67.0 68.9 67.2 66.0 67.9 67.5 77.5 81.3 77.3 76.7 77.7 78.2 Norway 73.8 75.3 73.8 73.5 73.3 73.3 77.7 80.7 77.6 77.4 77.4 77.3 Poland 53.1 52.2 53.1 53.1 53.0 53.0 66.3 66.1 66.3 66.4 66.3 66.5 Portugal 58.7 62.8 59.0 57.6 57.4 57.6 64.9 74.3 64.9 63.5 63.0 63.5 Slovak Republic 52.7 54.3 52.8 52.1 53.3 53.1 66.7 69.6 66.8 66.5 66.8 66.7 Slovenia 60.5 63.3 59.9 60.1 59.3 58.9 67.4 72.7 67.1 67.8 67.0 66.7 Spain 50.6 55.2 50.4 50.0 49.8 49.4 60.2 74.4 59.7 59.3 59.1 59.1 Sweden 71.8 71.9 71.9 71.9 72.1 72.3 75.6 76.9 75.6 75.8 76.0 76.0 Switzerland 73.6 73.5 73.9 73.8 74.2 74.2 85.2 85.4 85.7 85.4 84.5 84.4 Turkey 28.7 23.5 28.6 29.6 29.9 29.8 69.2 67.2 68.9 69.9 70.0 69.7 United Kingdom 65.1 66.0 65.1 65.8 65.7 65.8 75.2 77.6 75.4 75.5 75.2 75.3 United States 62.2 65.7 62.1 62.3 62.1 62.4 72.3 76.9 72.2 72.5 72.6 72.5

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Table 3: OECD Employment Rates by Age, s.a.

Employment as a percentage of corresponding working age population

Youth (15-24) Prime-age workers (25-54) Older workers (55-64)

2008 2012 2013 2008 2012 2013 2008 2012 2013

Q2 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q2 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q2 Q4 Q1 Q2

OECD - Total 42.8 39.2 39.1 39.2 77.2 75.6 75.5 75.6 54.1 55.9 56.0 56.2 Major Seven 46.5 42.2 42.1 42.2 79.8 78.1 78.0 78.1 57.4 59.0 59.2 59.3 European Union 37.5 32.6 32.4 32.3 79.5 77.0 76.8 76.8 45.5 49.3 49.5 49.7 Euro area 37.7 31.7 31.6 31.5 79.4 76.1 76.0 75.7 44.2 49.2 49.3 49.8

Australia 65.0 59.5 59.1 59.3 80.3 79.3 79.5 79.3 57.3 61.6 61.6 62.0 Austria 55.9 54.8 54.0 54.4 84.7 85.0 84.8 85.1 40.9 43.7 43.5 44.8 Belgium 27.2 25.3 23.4 23.9 80.5 79.3 78.9 79.3 32.9 38.9 40.6 41.7 Canada 59.7 54.5 55.1 55.4 82.4 81.8 81.5 81.5 57.9 59.9 60.7 60.6 Chile 27.5 30.6 30.8 30.4 70.1 74.5 74.9 75.3 55.6 63.6 63.1 64.0 Czech Republic 28.2 25.2 25.8 25.8 83.9 83.0 83.2 83.7 47.7 50.4 50.5 51.3 Denmark 67.4 54.7 54.3 53.8 87.3 81.6 82.0 82.5 58.8 61.0 60.8 61.8 Estonia 34.8 33.4 32.1 34.7 84.4 79.4 79.9 80.2 62.2 60.3 62.7 64.8 Finland 45.3 42.2 41.5 41.7 84.5 81.5 81.3 81.5 56.6 58.3 58.1 58.7 France 31.2 28.6 28.6 28.5 83.1 80.7 80.5 80.5 38.0 45.7 45.5 45.7 Germany 46.6 46.7 47.0 47.1 80.5 83.3 83.3 83.4 53.4 62.1 62.5 62.9 Greece 23.9 12.3 11.6 11.6 76.3 62.9 62.1 61.5 42.9 36.2 35.5 35.9 Hungary 20.0 19.7 19.0 19.5 74.3 74.8 74.3 75.4 31.0 37.1 37.6 38.3 Iceland 72.5 67.6 68.0 66.8 88.0 84.3 83.8 84.8 83.7 78.7 80.0 81.1 Ireland 47.2 28.4 28.6 28.8 77.9 69.9 70.2 70.6 53.7 50.0 50.3 50.5 Israel 74.2 76.7 76.9 76.7 58.8 63.4 65.3 65.1 Italy 24.6 17.9 16.7 16.7 73.5 69.9 69.4 68.4 34.7 41.0 41.3 42.0 Japan 41.7 38.8 39.4 39.6 80.2 80.7 80.9 81.3 66.7 65.8 66.4 66.3 Korea 24.4 24.3 23.8 23.8 74.3 74.6 74.6 74.8 60.6 63.2 63.5 64.1 Luxembourg 24.6 22.3 21.8 21.8 80.0 83.9 82.9 82.0 35.9 41.6 41.6 43.2 Mexico 44.5 42.1 41.7 70.4 70.3 70.4 54.5 54.3 54.5 Netherlands 69.2 63.2 62.9 62.7 86.8 83.2 82.9 82.6 52.7 59.2 59.4 59.8 New Zealand 56.8 46.9 49.6 49.6 82.1 79.6 80.5 80.2 71.8 72.8 73.8 75.1 Norway 58.1 51.9 52.4 51.8 86.8 84.2 84.0 84.0 69.1 71.1 70.4 71.6 Poland 27.1 24.7 24.1 24.3 77.0 77.0 76.6 76.7 31.9 39.5 39.8 40.1 Portugal 35.3 22.4 21.1 21.5 81.9 74.2 73.4 74.0 51.2 45.5 45.4 46.8 Slovak Republic 26.2 19.8 20.8 20.7 79.7 75.5 76.1 76.1 38.5 44.1 44.2 43.8 Slovenia 38.1 26.7 26.9 26.3 86.5 83.1 81.9 81.4 33.3 34.3 32.5 34.0 Spain 36.7 17.1 16.8 16.5 76.0 65.5 65.3 65.2 45.8 43.6 42.9 43.1 Sweden 42.3 40.3 40.8 40.9 86.5 85.2 85.5 85.4 70.4 73.4 73.1 73.3 Switzerland 62.4 61.4 62.4 61.3 87.2 86.9 86.1 86.2 68.4 70.9 71.4 72.0 Turkey 30.7 31.9 32.5 32.9 53.6 59.2 59.5 59.2 27.8 32.6 32.0 31.8 United Kingdom 52.9 47.3 46.8 46.0 81.6 80.8 80.7 80.9 58.2 58.6 58.8 59.6 United States 51.9 46.2 46.0 46.1 79.5 75.9 75.8 75.9 62.1 61.2 61.2 61.0