OECD unemployment rate stable at 8.0% in November 2012
The OECD unemployment rate was stable at 8.0% in November 2012, unchanged from the previous month.
In the euro area, the unemployment rate hit a new record high - up 0.1 percentage point to 11.8% in November, with an uninterrupted increase since June 2011.
In November, the unemployment rate fell by 0.1 percentage point in the United States (to 7.8%) and in Japan (to 4.1%), and by 0.2 percentage point in Canada (to 7.2%). More recent data referring to the month of December show that the unemployment rate continued to fall in Canada (by 0.1 percentage point to 7.1%), while it was stable in the United States.
Trends in unemployment rates have differed across population groups since the beginning of the financial and economic crisis. In November, the unemployment rate for men was 0.9 percentage point below the peak of 8.9% reached in 2009, while for women the unemployment rate has hovered around 8.0% since July 2009. As a consequence, the unemployment rates for men and women were both at 8.0% in November, respectively 2.1 and 2.0 percentage points above their pre-crisis level.
The unemployment rate for youth was 1.0 percentage point below its peak, but remained 3.3 percentage points above its pre-crisis level and was about twice as high (at 16.3%) as the rate for the working age population as a whole. The youth unemployment rate reached a peak of 24.4% in the Euro area, and was above 30% in Italy (37.1%), Portugal (38.7%), the Slovak Republic (35.8%) and Spain (56.5%).
Overall, there were 48.2 million people unemployed in the OECD area in November 2012, the same level as in October 2012 and 13.5 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 Nov-12 Jul-08
Table 1: OECD Unemployment Rates, s.a.
Percentage of active population
2009 2010 2011 2011 2012 2012
Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov
OECD - Total 8.1 8.3 8.0 7.9 7.9 7.9 7.9 8.0 8.0 8.0 7.9 8.0 8.0 Major Seven 8.0 8.2 7.7 7.6 7.5 7.4 7.4 7.4 7.5 7.4 7.3 7.3 7.3 European Union 9.0 9.7 9.7 10.0 10.2 10.4 10.5 10.5 10.5 10.5 10.6 10.7 10.7 Euro area 9.6 10.1 10.1 10.6 10.9 11.3 11.5 11.4 11.4 11.5 11.6 11.7 11.8
Australia 5.6 5.2 5.1 5.2 5.2 5.1 5.3 5.3 5.2 5.1 5.4 5.4 5.2 Austria 4.8 4.4 4.1 4.2 4.1 4.3 4.5 4.5 4.6 4.5 4.4 4.4 4.5 Belgium 7.9 8.3 7.2 7.2 7.1 7.5 7.4 7.5 7.4 7.4 7.4 7.4 7.4 Canada (1) 8.3 8.0 7.5 7.5 7.4 7.3 7.3 7.2 7.3 7.3 7.4 7.4 7.2
Chile 10.8 8.2 7.1 7.1 6.7 6.3 6.2 6.2 6.1 6.2 6.4 6.4
Czech Republic 6.7 7.3 6.7 6.6 6.8 6.8 7.0 6.9 6.9 7.0 7.1 7.3 7.4 Denmark 6.0 7.5 7.6 7.8 7.5 7.9 7.5 7.9 7.7 7.4 7.4 7.7 7.9 Estonia 13.8 16.9 12.6 11.8 10.7 10.0 9.9 9.9 10.1 10.0 9.6 9.5 Finland 8.2 8.4 7.8 7.6 7.6 7.7 7.8 7.7 7.8 7.8 7.8 7.8 7.9 France 9.5 9.7 9.6 9.8 10.0 10.2 10.3 10.3 10.3 10.3 10.4 10.4 10.5 Germany 7.8 7.1 6.0 5.6 5.6 5.5 5.5 5.5 5.5 5.5 5.4 5.4 5.4 Greece 9.5 12.6 17.7 20.6 21.8 23.9 25.4 24.7 24.8 25.3 26.0 Hungary 10.0 11.2 11.0 10.9 11.1 11.0 10.7 10.8 10.7 10.7 10.8 10.9 Iceland 7.3 7.6 7.1 6.5 6.5 6.2 5.7 6.0 5.9 5.7 5.5 5.4 5.3 Ireland 12.0 13.9 14.7 15.0 15.1 14.8 14.8 14.8 14.8 14.8 14.8 14.7 14.6
Israel 7.5 6.6 5.6 5.4 6.8 7.0 6.8 7.1 6.6 6.8 6.9 6.9 6.7
Italy 7.8 8.4 8.4 9.2 10.0 10.5 10.6 10.6 10.5 10.5 10.8 11.1 11.1
Japan 5.1 5.1 4.6 4.5 4.5 4.4 4.2 4.3 4.3 4.2 4.2 4.2 4.1
Korea 3.7 3.7 3.4 3.1 3.4 3.3 3.1 3.2 3.1 3.1 3.1 3.0 3.0
Luxembourg 5.1 4.6 4.8 4.8 4.9 5.0 5.1 5.0 5.1 5.0 5.1 5.1 5.1
Mexico 5.5 5.4 5.2 5.0 5.1 5.0 4.8 4.9 4.7 5.0 4.7 4.9 5.2
Netherlands 3.7 4.5 4.5 4.9 5.0 5.1 5.3 5.1 5.3 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6
New Zealand 6.1 6.5 6.5 6.4 6.7 6.8 7.3
Norway 3.2 3.6 3.3 3.4 3.2 3.0 3.0 3.1 3.0 3.1 3.0
Poland 8.1 9.6 9.6 9.9 9.9 10.0 10.3 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.3 10.5 10.6 Portugal 9.6 11.0 12.9 14.1 14.9 15.6 16.1 15.8 16.0 16.2 16.2 16.3 16.3 Slovak Republic 12.1 14.5 13.6 13.9 13.6 13.9 14.1 14.0 14.1 14.1 14.1 14.2 14.5 Slovenia 5.9 7.3 8.2 8.5 8.2 8.7 9.4 8.9 9.2 9.4 9.5 9.7 9.6 Spain 18.0 20.1 21.6 22.9 23.8 24.7 25.6 25.0 25.4 25.6 25.9 26.2 26.6
Sweden 8.3 8.4 7.5 7.5 7.5 7.6 7.7 7.6 7.5 7.9 7.8 7.7 8.1
Switzerland 4.5 4.0 4.0 4.3 3.7
Turkey 12.6 10.7 8.8 8.2 8.1 8.0 8.1 7.8 8.0 8.1 8.3
United Kingdom 7.6 7.8 8.0 8.3 8.1 7.9 7.8 7.9 7.8 7.8 7.8 United States (2) 9.3 9.6 9.0 8.7 8.3 8.2 8.0 8.2 8.2 8.1 7.8 7.9 7.8
Notes:
(1) Canada: Unemployment rate for December 2012 was 7.1%
Table 2: Unemployment Rates by Gender, s.a.
Percentage of corresponding active population
Women Men
2011 2012 2012 2011 2012 2012
Q2 Q3 Sep Oct Nov Q2 Q3 Sep Oct Nov
OECD - Total 8.0 8.0 8.0 8.0 8.1 8.0 7.9 7.9 7.9 7.9 7.9 8.0 Major Seven 7.5 7.3 7.2 7.1 7.2 7.1 7.9 7.5 7.5 7.4 7.4 7.4 European Union 9.8 10.4 10.6 10.6 10.7 10.7 9.6 10.3 10.5 10.6 10.7 10.8 Euro area 10.5 11.5 11.7 11.7 11.8 11.8 9.9 11.1 11.4 11.5 11.6 11.7
Australia 5.3 5.4 5.2 5.3 5.5 5.2 4.9 4.9 5.3 5.6 5.3 5.3 Austria 4.3 4.2 4.5 4.3 4.2 4.2 4.0 4.4 4.5 4.5 4.6 4.8 Belgium 7.2 7.7 7.4 7.2 7.2 7.3 7.1 7.2 7.4 7.5 7.5 7.5 Canada 7.0 6.8 6.8 6.7 6.8 6.6 7.8 7.7 7.8 7.9 8.0 7.7
Chile 8.7 7.5 7.8 7.9 7.7 6.1 5.5 5.1 5.4 5.4
Czech Republic 7.9 8.1 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 5.8 5.8 6.0 6.2 6.3 6.5 Denmark 7.5 7.9 7.3 7.1 7.4 7.6 7.7 7.9 7.6 7.6 7.9 8.1 Estonia 11.9 9.1 9.1 8.8 8.9 13.2 10.9 10.7 10.5 10.2 Finland 7.1 7.0 7.1 7.1 7.1 7.1 8.4 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.5 8.6 France 10.2 10.5 10.5 10.5 10.4 10.4 9.1 9.9 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 Germany 5.7 5.3 5.2 5.2 5.2 5.1 6.2 5.8 5.7 5.7 5.6 5.6 Greece 21.4 27.6 29.3 30.1 15.0 21.1 22.4 22.9 Hungary 10.9 10.5 10.4 10.5 10.7 11.0 11.3 11.0 11.0 11.1 Iceland 6.2 5.6 5.4 5.3 5.1 5.0 7.9 6.7 6.0 5.7 5.6 5.5 Ireland 10.8 10.9 11.0 11.2 11.1 11.1 17.8 18.0 17.8 17.6 17.6 17.5 Israel 5.6 7.1 6.6 6.5 6.8 6.4 5.6 6.8 6.9 7.2 7.0 7.0 Italy 9.6 11.7 11.7 11.7 12.1 12.0 7.5 9.7 9.8 10.2 10.4 10.6
Japan 4.2 4.2 3.9 3.8 3.9 3.8 4.9 4.6 4.5 4.4 4.3 4.3
Korea 3.1 3.1 2.9 2.9 2.8 2.6 3.6 3.4 3.3 3.3 3.1 3.2
Luxembourg 6.0 5.7 5.7 5.7 5.8 5.8 3.9 4.4 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.6 Mexico 5.3 5.0 4.8 4.9 5.2 5.3 5.2 4.9 4.8 4.6 4.8 5.1 Netherlands 4.4 5.1 5.3 5.4 5.4 5.4 4.5 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.6 5.8
New Zealand 6.7 7.2 7.4 6.4 6.4 7.2
Norway 3.1 2.6 2.7 2.7 3.5 3.5 3.4 3.4
Poland 10.4 10.9 11.0 11.1 11.1 11.2 9.0 9.3 9.6 9.8 9.9 10.0 Portugal 13.2 15.6 15.6 15.6 15.7 15.7 12.7 15.6 16.6 16.8 16.8 16.8 Slovak Republic 13.6 14.4 14.7 14.7 14.7 14.7 13.6 13.4 13.6 13.6 13.9 14.3 Slovenia 8.2 9.3 10.2 10.2 10.3 10.1 8.2 8.0 8.7 8.9 9.3 9.3 Spain 22.2 24.9 25.9 26.2 26.6 27.0 21.2 24.6 25.4 25.6 25.9 26.2 Sweden 7.5 7.4 7.5 7.9 7.3 7.9 7.5 7.8 8.0 7.8 8.1 8.3
Switzerland 4.4 4.2 4.6 3.7 3.4 4.1
Turkey 10.1 9.0 9.4 9.7 8.3 7.5 7.6 7.7
United Kingdom 7.3 7.3 7.3 7.3 8.7 8.4 8.2 8.2
United States 8.5 7.9 7.8 7.5 7.7 7.6 9.4 8.3 8.2 8.0 8.0 7.9
Table 3: Unemployment Rates by Age, s.a.
Percentage of corresponding active population
Youth (15-24) Prime and Older Workers (25+)
2011 2012 2012 2011 2012 2012
Q2 Q3 Sep Oct Nov Q2 Q3 Sep Oct Nov
OECD - Total 16.3 16.2 16.2 16.1 16.5 16.3 6.8 6.8 6.8 6.8 6.8 6.8 Major Seven 16.3 16.1 16.0 15.7 16.1 15.8 6.5 6.3 6.2 6.1 6.1 6.1 European Union 21.4 22.7 23.0 23.2 23.5 23.7 8.3 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.2 9.3 Euro area 20.8 22.8 23.5 23.8 24.2 24.4 9.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.4
Australia 11.3 11.5 11.9 12.0 12.3 11.7 3.7 3.8 3.9 4.1 3.9 3.9 Austria 8.3 8.7 9.1 8.9 8.7 9.0 3.5 3.7 3.7 3.7 3.8 3.9 Belgium 18.7 18.7 19.4 19.9 19.7 19.7 6.0 6.4 6.3 6.2 6.2 6.3 Canada 14.2 14.3 14.7 15.0 14.7 14.0 6.2 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.2 6.0
Chile 17.5 15.7 15.4 15.8 15.8 5.5 4.9 4.8 5.0 4.9
Czech Republic 18.1 19.7 19.5 19.9 20.9 21.3 5.9 5.8 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Denmark 14.2 14.7 13.3 12.9 13.7 14.2 6.3 6.6 6.4 6.4 6.6 6.7 Estonia 22.4 22.1 20.1 18.8 17.5 11.4 8.6 8.8 8.6 8.6 Finland 19.8 18.7 18.9 19.0 19.0 19.0 6.1 6.1 6.2 6.2 6.2 6.3 France 22.9 24.1 25.2 25.6 26.4 27.0 8.2 8.7 8.7 8.7 8.6 8.6 Germany 8.6 8.1 8.1 8.1 8.1 8.1 5.6 5.2 5.2 5.1 5.1 5.0 Greece 44.4 54.2 56.8 57.6 15.9 21.8 23.2 23.8 Hungary 26.1 28.2 29.3 29.9 29.3 9.9 9.7 9.3 9.3 9.5 Iceland 14.7 13.1 12.5 12.4 12.2 12.1 5.5 4.7 4.3 4.1 3.9 3.8 Ireland 29.0 31.1 30.6 30.1 29.9 29.7 12.9 12.9 12.9 13.0 12.9 12.9 Israel 11.6 11.3 13.6 12.3 12.1 11.7 4.9 5.7 5.6 5.8 6.4 6.1 Italy 28.9 34.0 35.0 35.9 36.5 37.1 7.0 8.8 8.8 8.8
Japan 8.2 8.3 7.7 7.0 7.7 6.9 4.3 4.1 3.9 3.9 3.8 3.9
Korea 9.6 9.6 8.9 8.8 8.6 8.1 3.0 2.9 2.7 2.8 2.6 2.6
Luxembourg 16.4 17.9 18.0 18.1 18.6 18.6 4.1 4.1 4.2 4.2 4.2 4.2 Mexico 10.0 9.5 9.2 9.3 9.7 9.8 4.0 3.8 3.7 3.6 3.8 4.1 Netherlands 7.6 9.3 9.4 9.7 9.8 9.7 3.8 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8
New Zealand 17.3 16.4 18.0 4.4 4.9 5.2
Norway 8.7 8.1 8.5 8.5 2.4 2.2 2.1 2.1
Poland 25.8 25.8 26.7 27.1 27.8 28.4 8.0 8.4 8.7 8.7 8.8 8.8 Portugal 30.1 37.6 39.0 38.9 39.0 38.7 11.4 13.6 14.1 14.2 14.2 14.2 Slovak Republic 33.5 34.8 34.6 34.7 35.3 35.8 11.8 12.0 12.2 12.2 12.3 12.5 Slovenia 15.8 20.7 23.5 23.5 7.5 7.7 8.2 8.3 8.3 8.3 Spain 46.5 52.6 54.1 54.6 55.8 56.5 19.4 22.4 23.2 23.4 23.7 24.0 Sweden 22.7 23.2 23.9 23.3 23.0 24.8 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.6 5.5 5.7
Switzerland 5.8 6.1 10.1 3.5 3.4 3.4
Turkey 16.8 15.6 15.6 16.2 7.2 6.5 6.7 6.8
United Kingdom 21.0 21.1 20.4 20.2 5.8 5.7 5.7 5.7
United States 17.3 16.3 16.2 15.5 16.0 15.6 7.6 6.9 6.7 6.6 6.6 6.5
Table 4: Unemployment Levels, s.a.
Thousands of persons
2010 2011 2012 2012
Q1 Q2 Q3 Aug Sep Oct Nov
OECD - Total 49,090 47,267 47,504 47,752 47,848 47,884 47,723 48,193 48,207 Major Seven 29,965 28,098 27,543 27,456 27,146 27,116 26,822 27,105 26,846 European Union 23,060 23,129 24,463 25,092 25,481 25,437 25,652 25,907 26,061 Euro area 15,938 16,021 17,268 17,921 18,329 18,291 18,487 18,707 18,820
Australia 616 611 625 624 640 622 664 654 637
Austria 188 179 180 189 196 196 192 192 197
Belgium 406 347 345 362 363 363 360 363 366
Canada 1,484 1,393 1,388 1,368 1,381 1,373 1,394 1,410 1,370
Chile 632 574 545 516 507 507 526 520
Czech Republic 380 351 355 357 370 369 376 385 393
Denmark 218 221 220 232 216 214 213 221 228
Estonia 116 87 75 70 69 69 67 66
Finland 224 209 204 207 210 210 210 211 212
France 2,828 2,801 2,920 2,993 3,032 3,028 3,047 3,066 3,094 Germany 2,946 2,501 2,351 2,336 2,319 2,320 2,313 2,300 2,281
Greece 629 877 1,071 1,186 1,265 1,261 1,295
Hungary 475 470 481 477 467 465 471 477
Iceland 14 13 12 11 10 10 10 10 9
Ireland 303 317 324 318 317 317 317 316 315
Israel 209 180 242 250 247 250 250 251 245
Italy 2,105 2,103 2,556 2,708 2,733 2,707 2,777 2,872 2,870 Japan 3,336 3,018 3,000 2,897 2,757 2,720 2,730 2,730 2,710
Korea 920 855 879 840 794 788 806 761 759
Luxembourg 11 12 12 12 12 12 12 13 13
Mexico 2,498 2,540 2,527 2,504 2,448 2,563 2,389 2,487 2,622
Netherlands 390 389 438 458 473 468 481 491 500
New Zealand 152 155 160 162 175
Norway 93 87 85 82 82 83 82
Poland 1,639 1,656 1,713 1,731 1,772 1,773 1,791 1,811 1,834
Portugal 603 706 803 844 877 882 880 885 884
Slovak Republic 387 366 370 377 382 382 381 388 397
Slovenia 75 83 83 87 95 95 96 99 98
Spain 4,632 4,999 5,482 5,713 5,922 5,914 5,990 6,078 6,157
Sweden 415 377 376 383 393 398 399 390 412
Switzerland 204 184 197 171 200
Turkey 2,697 2,328 2,158 2,135 2,200 2,182 2,268
United Kingdom 2,440 2,534 2,581 2,517 2,487 2,485 2,479 United States 14,825 13,747 12,747 12,638 12,437 12,483 12,082 12,248 12,042
