OECD unemployment rate stable at 5.2% in December 2018
The OECD unemployment rate was stable in December 2018, for the third consecutive month. At 5.2%, this level is three percentage points below the January 2013 peak. Across the OECD, 33.4 million people were unemployed.
The unemployment rate was also stable in the euro area in December, at 7.9%, with the largest decrease observed in Italy (down 0.2 percentage point, to 10.3%).
In Japan, the unemployment rate fell by 0.1 percentage point, to 2.4%, while it was stable in Canada (at 5.6%) and Korea (at 3.8%). The unemployment rate rose by 0.2 percentage point in Israel (to 4.3%) and the United States (to 3.9%) and by 0.3 percentage point in Mexico (to 3.6%). More recent data show that in January 2019 the unemployment rate increased further in the United States, by 0.1 percentage point, to 4.0%, while it also increased in Canada (by 0.2 percentage point, to 5.8%).
Between December 2017 and December 2018, the unemployment rate declined by 0.3 percentage point across the OECD, and by 0.7 percentage point in the euro area. The largest year-on-year falls (1.0 percentage point or more) among OECD countries were recorded in Greece (between November 2017 and November 2018, the latest month available), Spain, Finland, the Slovak Republic, Portugal and Latvia. On the other hand, the unemployment rate increased year-on-year by 1.3 percentage points in Turkey (between October 2017 and October 2018) and less significantly in Chile (between November 2017 and November 2018), Israel, Mexico and Korea.
The OECD unemployment rate for youth (people aged 15 to 24), at 11.2% in December, showed an increase of 0.2 percentage point relative to the previous month and a decrease of 0.2 percentage point compared to one year before.
OECD Unemployment Rates, s.a
.
All
Methodological Notes: http://www.oecd.org/sdd/labour-stats/44743407.pdf
The OECD area unemployment rate is calculated as the total number of unemployed persons in all OECD countries as a percentage of the total labour force (i.e., the unemployed plus those in employment); this is equivalent to an average of unemployment rates of all OECD countries weighted by the labour force of each country. Rates and levels are seasonally adjusted (s.a.).
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 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] 0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
OECD Total Euro area
United States Japan
0 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 27 30
Finland Greece Portugal
Slovak Republic Spain Turkey
Table 1: OECD Unemployment Rates, s.a.
Percentage of active population
2016 2017 2018 2018 2018
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
OECD - Total 6.3 5.8 5.3 5.4 5.3 5.3 5.2 5.3 5.3 5.2 5.2 5.2 5.2 Major Seven 5.5 5.0 4.6 4.7 4.6 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.4 4.5 4.4 4.5 European Union 8.6 7.6 6.8 7.1 6.9 6.8 6.6 6.8 6.8 6.7 6.7 6.6 6.6 Euro area 10.0 9.1 8.2 8.5 8.3 8.0 7.9 8.1 8.0 8.0 8.0 7.9 7.9
Australia 5.7 5.6 5.3 5.5 5.4 5.2 5.0 5.3 5.3 5.0 5.0 5.1 5.0 Austria 6.0 5.5 4.9 5.0 4.7 4.9 4.7 4.9 4.9 4.9 4.8 4.7 4.7 Belgium (1) 7.9 7.1 5.9 6.1 6.3 5.7 5.5 6.0 5.7 5.5 5.5 5.5 5.5 Canada (2) 7.0 6.3 5.8 5.8 5.9 5.9 5.6 5.9 6.0 5.8 5.7 5.6 5.6
Chile 6.5 6.7 7.0 6.9 6.8 6.9 7.2 7.0 6.9 7.0 7.1 7.2
Czech Republic 4.0 2.9 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.0 2.4 2.3 2.2 2.1 1.9 2.1 Denmark 6.2 5.7 5.0 5.0 5.0 4.9 5.0 5.0 4.8 4.8 4.8 5.0 5.1
Estonia 6.8 5.8 6.1 5.1 5.5 5.3 5.4 5.7 5.2 4.6
Finland 8.8 8.6 7.4 8.0 7.6 7.3 6.9 7.4 7.3 7.1 7.0 6.9 6.8 France 10.1 9.4 9.1 9.2 9.0 9.1 9.1 9.1 9.1 9.1 9.1 9.1 9.1 Germany 4.1 3.8 3.4 3.5 3.4 3.4 3.3 3.4 3.4 3.3 3.3 3.3 3.3 Greece 23.6 21.5 20.5 19.4 18.9 19.1 18.9 18.7 18.7 18.5
Hungary 5.1 4.2 3.7 3.7 3.7 3.7 3.8 3.7 3.7 3.7
Iceland 3.0 2.8 2.7 2.9 2.8 2.7 2.6 2.7 2.7 2.6 2.6 2.5 2.6 Ireland 8.4 6.7 5.7 5.9 5.8 5.7 5.4 5.8 5.6 5.6 5.5 5.4 5.3 Israel 4.8 4.2 4.0 3.7 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.2 4.0 4.1 4.1 4.1 4.3 Italy 11.7 11.2 10.6 11.0 10.7 10.3 10.5 10.4 10.1 10.4 10.6 10.5 10.3 Japan 3.1 2.8 2.4 2.5 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.5 2.4 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.4 Korea 3.7 3.7 3.8 3.7 3.8 4.0 3.8 3.8 4.2 4.0 3.9 3.8 3.8 Latvia 9.6 8.7 7.4 7.8 7.7 7.1 7.0 7.4 7.1 6.9 6.9 7.0 7.1 Lithuania 7.9 7.1 6.4 6.4 5.8 6.4 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.6 6.3 6.2 6.3 Luxembourg 6.3 5.6 5.3 5.5 5.4 5.3 5.0 5.4 5.4 5.2 5.2 5.0 4.9 Mexico 3.9 3.4 3.3 3.3 3.4 3.3 3.4 3.3 3.3 3.4 3.2 3.3 3.6 Netherlands 6.0 4.9 3.8 4.1 3.9 3.8 3.6 3.8 3.9 3.7 3.7 3.5 3.6
New Zealand 5.1 4.7 4.3 4.4 4.4 4.0 4.3
Norway 4.8 4.2 3.9 3.8 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 3.8
Poland 6.2 4.9 3.8 4.1 3.8 3.8 3.5 3.8 3.8 3.7 3.6 3.5 3.5 Portugal 11.2 9.0 7.1 7.7 7.0 6.8 6.7 6.8 6.9 6.6 6.6 6.7 6.7 Slovak Republic 9.7 8.1 6.6 7.1 6.7 6.4 6.1 6.5 6.4 6.3 6.2 6.1 6.1 Slovenia 8.0 6.6 5.4 5.6 5.4 5.2 5.3 5.2 5.2 5.2 5.3 5.3 5.2 Spain 19.7 17.2 15.3 16.2 15.4 15.0 14.4 15.1 15.0 14.8 14.6 14.4 14.3 Sweden 7.0 6.7 6.3 6.2 6.2 6.5 6.2 6.4 6.6 6.5 6.0 6.2 6.4
Switzerland 4.9 4.8 4.9 4.9 4.3
Turkey 10.9 10.9 9.9 10.6 11.2 11.1 11.2 11.4 11.5
United Kingdom 4.8 4.4 4.2 4.0 4.1 4.0 4.1 4.1 4.0
United States (3) 4.9 4.4 3.9 4.1 3.9 3.8 3.8 3.9 3.8 3.7 3.8 3.7 3.9 Notes:
(1) Belgium: Due to a methodological break in the Labour Force Survey, data from the 1st quarter of 2017 onwards are not comparable with previous data.
Table 2: Unemployment Rates by Gender, s.a.
Percentage of corresponding active population
Women Men
2018 2018 2018 2018 2018 2018
Q3 Q4 Oct Nov Dec Q3 Q4 Oct Nov Dec
OECD - Total 5.5 5.4 5.3 5.4 5.3 5.3 5.2 5.1 5.1 5.1 5.1 5.2 Major Seven 4.5 4.4 4.4 4.4 4.4 4.4 4.6 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 European Union 7.1 7.0 6.8 6.9 6.8 6.8 6.6 6.6 6.4 6.5 6.4 6.4 Euro area 8.6 8.4 8.3 8.4 8.3 8.3 7.9 7.7 7.6 7.7 7.6 7.6
Australia 5.3 5.3 5.0 5.1 5.0 5.0 5.3 5.1 5.0 5.0 5.1 4.9
Austria 4.7 4.9 4.5 4.4 4.4 4.7 5.1 4.9 5.0 5.2 5.0 4.8
Belgium 5.5 5.2 4.8 4.9 4.8 4.8 6.3 6.2 6.1 6.0 6.1 6.2
Canada 5.5 5.6 5.3 5.4 5.3 5.3 6.1 6.2 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0
Chile 7.7 7.5 8.1 7.7 8.1 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.6
Czech Republic 2.8 2.8 2.6 2.6 2.5 2.6 1.8 1.9 1.6 1.7 1.4 1.8
Denmark 5.1 5.0 4.9 4.6 5.0 5.1 4.8 4.8 5.0 4.9 5.1 5.1
Estonia 5.3 5.6 5.0 5.6 4.9 4.2
Finland 7.3 7.2 6.9 7.0 6.9 6.9 7.4 7.4 7.0 7.1 7.0 6.8
France 9.1 9.0 9.1 9.0 9.1 9.1 9.2 9.2 9.2 9.2 9.1 9.2
Germany 2.9 2.9 2.8 2.8 2.8 2.7 3.8 3.8 3.7 3.8 3.7 3.7
Greece 23.7 23.5 23.7 15.0 14.8 14.3
Hungary 4.1 3.9 3.7 3.5 3.5 3.6
Iceland 2.6 2.5 2.4 2.5 2.4 2.4 2.9 2.8 2.7 2.7 2.7 2.7
Ireland 5.6 5.6 5.4 5.5 5.4 5.4 5.8 5.7 5.4 5.5 5.4 5.3
Israel 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.2 4.1 4.3 4.0 4.1 4.1 4.0 4.2 4.2
Italy 11.8 11.4 11.7 11.9 11.7 11.6 9.7 9.4 9.5 9.6 9.6 9.4
Japan 2.2 2.3 2.3 2.2 2.3 2.3 2.6 2.5 2.7 2.7 2.7 2.6
Korea 3.7 4.0 3.6 3.8 3.6 3.4 3.9 4.1 4.0 4.0 3.9 4.1
Latvia 6.4 6.0 6.1 6.1 6.1 6.1 8.5 8.2 7.9 7.8 7.8 8.1
Lithuania 5.7 5.9 5.7 5.8 5.7 5.7 7.1 6.9 6.8 6.9 6.8 6.8 Luxembourg 5.7 5.7 5.4 5.5 5.3 5.3 5.0 5.0 4.7 4.8 4.8 4.6
Mexico 3.5 3.6 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.7 3.2 3.2 3.3 3.0 3.3 3.5
Netherlands 4.0 3.9 3.7 3.7 3.6 3.7 3.7 3.8 3.5 3.6 3.5 3.5
New Zealand 4.5 4.0 4.2 4.2 3.9 4.4
Norway 3.8 3.8 3.6 4.2 4.1 3.9
Poland 3.7 3.6 3.4 3.5 3.4 3.3 3.9 3.9 3.6 3.7 3.6 3.6
Portugal 7.4 7.2 7.3 7.1 7.3 7.4 6.6 6.3 6.1 6.1 6.1 6.0 Slovak Republic 7.0 6.9 6.6 6.6 6.6 6.5 6.2 6.0 5.8 5.9 5.8 5.7 Slovenia 6.0 5.9 5.9 6.0 5.9 5.8 4.8 4.6 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.7 Spain 17.0 16.7 16.3 16.4 16.2 16.2 13.7 13.5 12.9 13.1 12.9 12.7
Sweden 6.2 6.6 6.1 5.9 6.1 6.3 6.4 6.4 6.2 6.1 6.2 6.4
Switzerland 4.5 4.1
Turkey (1) 14.1 14.4 9.9 10.1
United Kingdom 4.0 4.0 4.1 4.0
United States 3.8 3.8 3.8 3.7 3.8 3.8 4.0 3.8 3.8 3.8 3.6 3.9 Notes:
(1) Turkey: Due to changes introduced in the Labour Force Survey, data by gender from January 2014 onwards are OECD estimates.
Table 3: Unemployment Rates by Age, s.a.
Percentage of corresponding active population
Youth (15-24) Prime-age and Older Workers (25+)
2018 2018 2018 2018 2018 2018
Q3 Q4 Oct Nov Dec Q3 Q4 Oct Nov Dec
OECD - Total 11.1 11.1 11.1 11.1 11.0 11.2 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.4 4.5 Major Seven 9.8 9.7 9.6 9.6 9.5 9.8 3.9 3.8 3.8 3.8 3.8 3.8 European Union 15.3 15.2 15.0 15.1 14.9 14.9 6.0 5.9 5.8 5.8 5.8 5.8 Euro area 17.1 16.9 16.7 16.9 16.6 16.6 7.4 7.2 7.1 7.1 7.1 7.0
Australia 11.8 11.4 11.3 11.3 11.5 11.2 4.0 4.0 3.8 3.8 3.8 3.8
Austria 9.4 9.0 9.0 9.3 8.7 8.9 4.3 4.4 4.1 4.2 4.1 4.1
Belgium (1) 16.7 15.7 15.4 15.4 15.4 15.4 5.0 4.9 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.6 Canada 11.1 11.0 11.0 11.0 10.8 11.1 5.0 5.1 4.8 4.9 4.8 4.8
Chile 17.6 17.3 18.7 17.8 18.7 5.8 5.8 6.0 5.9 6.0
Czech Republic 6.7 6.1 5.3 5.0 5.0 5.8 2.0 2.1 1.9 2.0 1.7 1.9
Denmark 9.2 9.2 8.6 8.5 8.7 8.7 4.2 4.1 4.3 4.1 4.4 4.4
Estonia 15.4 16.2 12.2 4.5 4.2 3.9
Finland 16.9 17.4 17.4 17.5 17.4 17.2 6.1 6.0 5.6 5.7 5.6 5.5 France 21.2 21.0 21.1 21.1 21.0 21.1 7.8 7.8 7.8 7.8 7.8 7.8
Germany 6.2 6.2 6.1 6.1 6.1 6.0 3.1 3.1 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0
Greece 37.5 39.1 39.1 17.9 17.6 17.4
Hungary 9.9 10.1 10.2 3.3 3.2 3.2
Iceland 6.0 6.5 6.1 6.2 5.9 6.1 2.1 2.0 1.9 1.9 1.9 1.9
Ireland 13.5 13.6 12.5 12.9 12.3 12.2 4.6 4.6 4.4 4.4 4.4 4.3 Israel (2) 7.1 9.2 7.3 7.6 6.8 7.6 3.4 3.3 3.7 3.7 3.8 3.6
Italy 32.1 32.0 32.0 32.4 31.8 31.9 8.9
Japan 3.7 3.8 3.4 3.4 3.5 3.3 2.3 2.3 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.4
Korea 10.5 11.3 10.4 10.6 10.4 10.3 3.4 3.6 3.4 3.5 3.4 3.4 Latvia 11.7 9.9 10.6 10.3 10.6 10.8 7.1 6.9 6.7 6.7 6.7 6.8 Lithuania 11.4 10.2 10.6 10.6 10.6 10.5 6.0 6.1 5.9 5.9 5.8 5.9 Luxembourg 13.5 13.4 12.3 12.5 12.4 11.9 4.6 4.7 4.4 4.6 4.4 4.3
Mexico 6.9 7.0 7.1 6.7 7.1 7.4 2.6 2.6 2.6 2.5 2.6 2.8
Netherlands 7.2 7.5 6.9 7.2 6.9 6.6 3.2 3.1 3.0 3.0 2.9 3.0
New Zealand 11.5 9.8 12.8 3.0 2.9 2.8
Norway 10.0 10.3 10.3 3.1 3.0 2.8
Poland 11.6 12.0 11.0 11.5 11.0 10.5 3.2 3.1 2.9 3.0 2.9 2.9 Portugal 20.2 19.9 19.2 20.7 19.3 17.6 6.0 5.8 5.7 5.5 5.7 5.8 Slovak Republic 15.4 14.7 14.2 14.5 14.3 13.8 5.9 5.8 5.5 5.6 5.5 5.5 Slovenia (3) 9.7 10.0 9.7 9.7 9.7 9.7 5.0 4.8 4.9 4.9 5.0 4.9 Spain 34.4 34.3 33.1 33.8 32.9 32.7 13.9 13.6 13.1 13.3 13.1 13.0 Sweden 16.5 17.4 16.8 17.0 17.0 16.4 5.0 5.1 4.8 4.6 4.8 5.1
Switzerland 7.7 3.8
Turkey 20.7 21.7 9.4 9.5
United Kingdom 11.3 11.5 3.0 2.9
United States 8.6 8.5 8.4 8.3 8.1 8.7 3.2 3.1 3.1 3.1 3.0 3.1 Notes:
(1) Belgium: Quarterly data are shown for youth unemployment.
(2) Israel: Data shown in this table are not seasonally adjusted.
Table 4: Unemployment Levels, s.a.
Thousands of persons
2017 2018 2018 2018
Q2 Q3 Q4 Sep Oct Nov Dec
OECD - Total 36,283 33,661 33,687 33,437 33,287 33,212 33,266 33,157 33,425 Major Seven 18,891 17,439 17,438 17,170 17,174 16,969 17,184 17,085 17,252 European Union 18,778 16,911 16,989 16,671 16,401 16,591 16,516 16,381 16,306 Euro area 14,751 13,408 13,496 13,173 13,004 13,125 13,100 12,994 12,919
Australia 725 703 720 690 672 668 670 681 667
Austria 248 221 213 222 215 223 218 213 214
Belgium (1) 354 298 316 291 277 279 276 276 278
Canada 1,247 1,155 1,171 1,170 1,129 1,161 1,138 1,125 1,125
Chile 592 628 618 621 654 635 642 654
Czech Republic 155 121 125 123 111 116 115 103 116
Denmark 171 150 152 147 150 147 144 153 153
Estonia 41 36 39 41 37 32
Finland 234 202 208 200 191 196 193 191 188
France 2,788 2,712 2,690 2,711 2,715 2,717 2,714 2,710 2,720 Germany 1,621 1,471 1,480 1,459 1,427 1,451 1,440 1,427 1,413
Greece 1,027 926 897 889 881 875
Hungary 192 169 174 173 172 171
Iceland 6 6 6 5 5 5 5 5 5
Ireland 158 136 139 135 129 133 131 129 128
Israel 168 163 161 167 172 167 169 170 176
Italy 2,909 2,757 2,800 2,662 2,720 2,690 2,752 2,727 2,682 Japan 1,896 1,665 1,630 1,663 1,693 1,600 1,680 1,730 1,670 Korea 1,023 1,073 1,067 1,123 1,074 1,122 1,100 1,064 1,059
Latvia 85 73 76 70 69 68 68 69 70
Lithuania 103 93 85 93 91 97 92 91 91
Luxembourg 16 16 16 16 15 15 15 15 14
Mexico 1,854 1,850 1,868 1,852 1,879 1,876 1,774 1,865 1,998
Netherlands 438 350 354 348 331 343 337 326 329
New Zealand 127 118 122 110 120
Norway 116 106 112 112 112 106
Poland 844 650 653 644 605 635 620 605 591
Portugal 465 363 361 350 345 341 343 345 346
Slovak Republic 224 181 184 175 169 173 171 169 166
Slovenia 67 55 55 53 54 53 54 54 54
Spain 3,917 3,479 3,512 3,405 3,302 3,372 3,338 3,298 3,269
Sweden 359 343 340 355 340 356 331 339 350
Switzerland 234 240 211
Turkey 3,451 3,421 3,638 3,687 3,744
United Kingdom 1,448 1,334 1,362 1,364 1,348
United States 6,982 6,314 6,333 6,143 6,141 5,986 6,112 6,018 6,294 Note:
(1) Belgium: Due to a methodological break in the Labour Force Survey, data from the 1st quarter of 2017 onwards are not comparable with previous data.
