OECD unemployment rate stable at 5.3% in March 2019
The OECD unemployment rate was stable at 5.3% in March 2019. Across the OECD area, 33.6 million people were unemployed in March, 0.1 million more than in February.
In the euro area, the unemployment rate declined in March by 0.1 percentage point, to 7.7% (its lowest level since September 2008), falling by 0.3 percentage point in Ireland (to 4.7%), Italy (to 10.2%) and Lithuania (to 5.8%) and by 0.2 percentage point in Spain (to 14.0%).
Outside Europe, the unemployment rate increased by 0.2 percentage point in Japan (to 2.5%) and by 0.1 percentage point in Korea (to 3.8%) and Mexico (to 3.5%), while it fell by 0.2 percentage point in Israel (to 3.9%). The unemployment rate was stable in both Canada (at 5.8%) and the United States (at 3.8%). More recent data show that in April 2019 the unemployment rate decreased by 0.2 percentage point in the United States (to 3.6%, its lowest level since December 1969) and by 0.1 percentage point in Canada (to 5.7%).
In March, the difference between OECD unemployment rates for women (at 5.3%) and men (at 5.2%) almost disappeared. The OECD unemployment rate for youth (people aged 15 to 24) decreased by 0.1 percentage point to 11.2%, with a fall of 0.4 percentage point in the unemployment rate for young women (to 10.5%), contrasting with an increase of 0.2 percentage point in the rate for young men (to 11.8%). In the euro area, the youth unemployment rate declined by 0.2 percentage point (to 16.0%), with declines of 0.5 percentage point or more in Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania and Spain and an increase by 0.5 percentage point in Luxembourg.
OECD Unemployment Rates, s.a
.
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: 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 news.contact@oecd.org
For technical questions contact stat.contact@oecd.org Next release: Thursday, 13 June 2019
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
All
OECD Total Euro area United States Japan
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Youth
Women, 15-24 Men, 15-24
Table 1: OECD Unemployment Rates, s.a.
Percentage of the labour force
2016 2017 2018 2018 2019 2018 2019
Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar
OECD - Total 6.3 5.8 5.3 5.3 5.3 5.3 5.3 5.2 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.3 5.3 Major Seven 5.5 5.0 4.6 4.6 4.5 4.4 4.5 4.5 4.4 4.5 4.5 4.4 4.4 European Union 8.6 7.6 6.8 6.9 6.7 6.6 6.5 6.7 6.6 6.6 6.5 6.5 6.4 Euro area 10.0 9.1 8.2 8.3 8.0 7.9 7.8 8.0 7.9 7.9 7.8 7.8 7.7
Australia 5.7 5.6 5.3 5.4 5.2 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.1 5.0 5.0 4.9 5.0 Austria 6.0 5.5 4.9 4.7 4.9 4.7 4.8 4.8 4.6 4.6 4.8 4.9 4.8 Belgium (1) 7.9 7.1 6.0 6.2 5.7 5.8 5.8 5.7 5.8 5.8 5.8 5.8 5.7 Canada (2) 7.0 6.3 5.8 5.9 5.9 5.6 5.8 5.7 5.6 5.6 5.8 5.8 5.8
Chile 6.5 6.7 7.0 6.8 6.9 7.2 6.9 7.1 7.2 7.1 7.0 6.9
Czech Republic 4.0 2.9 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.1 1.9 2.1 2.0 2.1 2.0 1.9 1.9 Denmark 6.2 5.7 5.0 5.0 4.9 4.9 5.2 4.8 5.1 4.9 5.1 5.1 5.3
Estonia 6.8 5.8 5.4 5.1 5.3 4.6 5.1 4.4 4.2 4.3 4.6
Finland 8.8 8.6 7.4 7.6 7.2 6.8 6.6 7.0 6.8 6.7 6.6 6.6 6.6 France 10.1 9.4 9.1 9.1 9.0 8.9 8.8 9.0 8.9 8.9 8.9 8.8 8.8 Germany 4.1 3.8 3.4 3.4 3.4 3.3 3.2 3.3 3.3 3.3 3.2 3.2 3.2 Greece 23.6 21.5 19.3 19.5 18.9 18.5 18.6 18.6 18.4 18.5
Hungary 5.1 4.2 3.7 3.7 3.7 3.7 3.7 3.7 3.7 3.5 3.4
Iceland 3.0 2.8 2.7 2.9 2.7 2.8 3.0 2.7 2.8 2.8 3.0 3.0 3.0 Ireland 8.4 6.7 5.8 5.9 5.6 5.6 5.0 5.7 5.6 5.5 5.2 5.0 4.7 Israel 4.8 4.2 4.0 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.1 4.1 4.1 4.2 4.2 4.1 3.9 Italy 11.7 11.2 10.6 10.7 10.3 10.6 10.4 10.7 10.6 10.5 10.4 10.5 10.2 Japan 3.1 2.8 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.5 2.4 2.5 2.3 2.5 Korea 3.7 3.7 3.8 3.8 4.0 3.8 4.0 3.9 3.8 3.8 4.4 3.7 3.8 Latvia 9.6 8.7 7.4 7.7 7.1 7.0 7.2 6.9 6.9 7.1 7.3 7.2 7.1 Lithuania 7.9 7.1 6.2 6.1 6.2 5.9 6.0 6.1 5.8 5.8 6.1 6.1 5.8 Luxembourg 6.3 5.6 5.4 5.6 5.4 5.2 5.3 5.3 5.2 5.1 5.1 5.3 5.5 Mexico 3.9 3.4 3.3 3.4 3.3 3.4 3.4 3.2 3.4 3.6 3.4 3.4 3.5 Netherlands 6.0 4.9 3.8 3.9 3.8 3.6 3.4 3.7 3.5 3.6 3.6 3.4 3.3
New Zealand 5.1 4.7 4.3 4.4 4.0 4.3 4.2
Norway 4.8 4.2 3.9 3.8 4.0 3.9 4.0 3.8 3.8 3.9
Poland 6.2 4.9 3.9 3.7 3.9 3.8 3.5 3.9 3.8 3.7 3.6 3.5 3.4 Portugal 11.2 9.0 7.1 7.1 6.8 6.6 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.6 6.6 6.5 6.4 Slovak Republic 9.7 8.1 6.5 6.7 6.3 6.0 5.8 6.1 6.0 5.9 5.9 5.8 5.7 Slovenia 8.0 6.6 5.1 5.3 5.1 4.4 4.4 4.6 4.4 4.3 4.3 4.4 4.4 Spain 19.7 17.2 15.3 15.4 15.0 14.5 14.2 14.7 14.5 14.4 14.3 14.2 14.0 Sweden 7.0 6.7 6.3 6.2 6.5 6.2 6.4 6.0 6.2 6.4 6.1 6.3 6.7
Switzerland 4.9 4.8 4.7 4.8 4.4 4.7
Turkey 10.9 10.9 11.0 10.6 11.3 12.2 11.7 12.2 12.7 13.3 United Kingdom 4.8 4.4 4.0 4.0 4.0 3.9 4.0 3.9 3.8 3.8 United States (3) 4.9 4.4 3.9 3.9 3.8 3.8 3.9 3.8 3.7 3.9 4.0 3.8 3.8 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 the labour force of each group
Women Men
2018 2018 2019 2019 2018 2018 2019 2019
Q4 Q1 Jan Feb Mar Q4 Q1 Jan Feb Mar
OECD - Total 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.5 5.4 5.3 5.2 5.2 5.2 5.3 5.2 5.2 Major Seven 4.5 4.4 4.4 4.5 4.4 4.3 4.6 4.5 4.5 4.6 4.5 4.5 European Union 7.1 6.9 6.8 6.8 6.8 6.7 6.6 6.4 6.2 6.3 6.2 6.1
Euro area 8.6 8.4 8.3 8.3 8.3 8.2 7.9 7.6 7.4 7.5 7.4 7.3
Australia 5.3 5.0 5.1 5.2 4.9 5.1 5.3 5.0 5.0 4.9 4.9 5.0
Austria 4.7 4.4 4.7 4.6 4.7 4.7 5.1 4.9 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0
Belgium 5.6 5.3 5.3 5.4 5.3 5.3 6.3 6.2 6.2 6.2 6.2 6.2
Canada 5.5 5.3 5.3 5.3 5.3 5.4 6.1 6.0 6.2 6.2 6.2 6.1
Chile 7.7 8.1 7.5 7.8 7.5 6.4 6.6 6.4 6.4 6.4
Czech Republic 2.8 2.6 2.2 2.4 2.1 2.1 1.8 1.6 1.8 1.8 1.7 1.8
Denmark 5.1 5.0 5.5 5.4 5.5 5.5 4.8 4.9 4.9 4.9 4.8 5.0
Estonia 5.3 5.1 4.5 4.8 5.4 4.1 4.1 4.5
Finland 7.3 6.6 6.3 6.4 6.3 6.2 7.4 7.0 7.0 6.9 7.0 7.0
France 9.1 9.0 8.8 8.9 8.8 8.8 9.0 8.9 8.8 8.8 8.8 8.8
Germany 2.9 2.9 2.9 2.9 2.9 2.9 3.8 3.7 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.4
Greece 24.2 23.6 23.6 15.4 14.6 14.5
Hungary 4.0 3.7 3.6 3.5 3.5 3.6 3.5 3.3
Iceland 2.6 2.6 2.7 2.6 2.7 2.7 2.9 2.9 3.3 3.2 3.3 3.3
Ireland 5.7 5.6 4.6 5.0 4.6 4.3 5.8 5.6 5.2 5.4 5.2 5.0
Israel 4.0 4.2 4.1 4.3 4.2 4.0 4.0 4.1 4.0 4.1 4.0 3.9
Italy 11.8 11.7 11.5 11.6 11.7 11.3 9.8 9.7 9.6 9.6 9.7 9.4
Japan 2.2 2.2 2.3 2.5 2.2 2.2 2.6 2.6 2.6 2.5 2.5 2.8
Korea 3.7 3.6 3.8 4.3 3.6 3.6 3.9 4.0 4.0 4.4 3.7 3.9
Latvia 6.4 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.3 8.4 7.7 8.0 8.2 8.1 7.8
Lithuania 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.5 5.4 5.4 6.9 6.4 6.6 6.8 6.7 6.3
Luxembourg 5.7 5.5 5.7 5.4 5.7 6.0 5.1 5.0 5.0 4.8 5.0 5.1
Mexico 3.5 3.6 3.6 3.7 3.5 3.7 3.2 3.3 3.3 3.3 3.3 3.4
Netherlands 4.0 3.7 3.5 3.7 3.5 3.4 3.7 3.5 3.4 3.5 3.3 3.3
New Zealand 4.5 4.2 4.5 4.2 4.4 3.9
Norway 3.6 3.7 3.7 4.1 4.0 3.9
Poland 3.9 3.9 3.7 3.8 3.7 3.7 3.9 3.7 3.3 3.4 3.3 3.2
Portugal 7.4 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.2 7.3 6.6 6.1 5.8 5.8 5.8 5.7
Slovak Republic 7.0 6.6 6.3 6.4 6.3 6.3 6.1 5.6 5.3 5.4 5.3 5.3
Slovenia 5.7 5.0 5.1 4.9 5.1 5.3 4.6 3.9 3.7 3.8 3.7 3.6
Spain 17.0 16.3 16.1 16.2 16.1 16.0 13.7 12.9 12.4 12.6 12.4 12.3
Sweden 6.2 6.2 6.4 6.1 6.4 6.6 6.4 6.2 6.3 6.0 6.2 6.8
Switzerland 5.1 5.1 4.4 4.4
Turkey (1) 13.9 14.4 15.7 9.6 11.1 12.2
United Kingdom 4.0 3.8 3.7 4.1 4.0 3.9
United States 3.8 3.8 3.8 3.9 3.8 3.7 4.0 3.8 4.0 4.1 3.9 3.9 Note:
(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 the labour force of each group
Youth (15-24) Prime-age and Older Workers (25+)
2018 2018 2019 2019 2018 2018 2019 2019
Q4 Q1 Jan Feb Mar Q4 Q1 Jan Feb Mar
OECD - Total 11.1 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.3 11.2 4.6 4.5 4.5 4.6 4.5 4.5 Major Seven 9.8 9.6 9.7 9.8 9.7 9.6 3.9 3.8 3.8 3.9 3.8 3.8 European Union 15.2 14.8 14.6 14.7 14.6 14.5 6.0 5.8 5.7 5.7 5.7 5.6 Euro area 16.9 16.5 16.2 16.3 16.2 16.0 7.4 7.1 7.0 7.0 7.0 6.9
Australia 11.8 11.3 11.4 11.4 11.1 11.7 4.0 3.8 3.7 3.8 3.7 3.7
Austria 9.4 8.7 8.1 8.2 8.0 8.0 4.3 4.2 4.4 4.4 4.5 4.4
Belgium (1) 15.9 12.9 12.8 12.8 12.8 12.8 5.2 5.2 5.2 5.2 5.2 5.1 Canada 11.1 11.0 10.9 11.2 10.8 10.7 5.0 4.8 5.0 4.9 5.0 5.0
Chile 17.6 17.8 18.5 18.5 18.5 5.8 6.0 5.7 5.8 5.7
Czech Republic 6.7 5.4 6.1 6.0 5.9 6.3 2.0 1.9 1.7 1.8 1.7 1.7
Denmark 9.3 8.9 9.9 9.8 9.8 10.2 4.2 4.2 4.3 4.3 4.3 4.4
Estonia 11.7 11.3 8.1 7.1 4.8 4.0 4.0 4.4
Finland 16.9 17.2 16.7 16.8 16.7 16.5 6.1 5.5 5.3 5.3 5.3 5.3 France 20.7 20.3 20.2 20.3 20.2 20.2 7.8 7.7 7.5 7.6 7.5 7.5
Germany 6.2 5.9 5.7 5.7 5.7 5.6 3.1 3.0 2.9 3.0 2.9 2.9
Greece 39.9 39.6 39.7 18.2 17.4 17.4
Hungary 10.2 10.6 11.6 11.0 3.2 3.2 2.9 2.8
Iceland 6.0 7.1 7.6 7.8 7.8 7.2 2.1 2.0 2.1 2.0 2.1 2.2
Ireland 13.7 13.0 11.9 12.6 12.0 11.2 4.7 4.6 4.0 4.2 4.0 3.8 Israel (2) 7.1 7.3 5.8 6.8 6.1 4.4 3.4 3.7 3.5 3.7 3.5 3.3
Italy 32.3 32.5 31.4 32.3 31.8 30.2 9.3 9.2
Japan 3.7 3.3 3.4 3.2 3.4 3.6 2.3 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.2 2.4
Korea 10.5 10.4 10.2 10.2 9.8 10.7 3.4 3.5 3.5 4.0 3.3 3.3 Latvia 12.3 12.4 12.9 13.4 13.1 12.3 7.1 6.6 6.8 6.8 6.8 6.7 Lithuania 11.2 10.7 10.9 11.1 11.1 10.6 5.8 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.7 5.4 Luxembourg 13.6 12.3 12.8 12.0 13.0 13.5 4.7 4.6 4.7 4.5 4.7 4.8
Mexico 6.9 7.1 6.9 6.9 7.0 6.9 2.6 2.6 2.7 2.7 2.6 2.8
Netherlands 7.2 6.9 6.4 6.5 6.4 6.4 3.2 3.0 2.9 3.0 2.8 2.8
New Zealand 11.5 12.8 11.7 3.0 2.8 2.8
Norway 9.6 10.2 10.6 3.0 2.9 2.9
Poland 11.8 11.8 11.4 11.5 11.4 11.4 3.2 3.2 2.8 3.0 2.8 2.7 Portugal 20.3 19.2 17.0 17.6 16.9 16.5 6.0 5.6 5.7 5.7 5.7 5.7 Slovak Republic 14.9 13.0 11.9 12.1 11.8 11.8 5.9 5.5 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.3 Slovenia (3) 8.8 6.6 7.8 7.8 7.8 7.8 4.8 4.2 4.1 4.1 4.1 4.0 Spain 34.4 33.5 34.1 34.2 34.4 33.7 13.9 13.1 12.7 12.9 12.7 12.6 Sweden 16.5 17.0 17.9 17.6 17.9 18.2 5.0 4.8 4.9 4.6 4.8 5.2
Switzerland 7.9 8.0 4.3 4.3
Turkey 20.3 22.7 24.7 9.2 10.2 11.1
United Kingdom 11.3 11.2 10.6 3.0 2.9 2.8
United States 8.6 8.4 8.9 9.1 8.9 8.8 3.2 3.1 3.1 3.3 3.1 3.1 Notes:
(1) Belgium: Quarterly data are shown for youth unemployment.
Table 4: Unemployment Levels, s.a.
Thousands of persons
2017 2018 2018 2019 2018 2019
Q3 Q4 Q1 Dec Jan Feb Mar
OECD - Total 36,283 33,697 33,454 33,501 33,807 33,759 34,288 33,523 33,617 Major Seven 18,891 17,410 17,132 17,093 17,173 17,145 17,460 17,032 17,026 European Union 18,778 16,891 16,669 16,397 16,051 16,253 16,166 16,079 15,907 Euro area 14,751 13,392 13,153 12,996 12,765 12,893 12,862 12,804 12,630
Australia 724 703 690 672 673 666 677 663 680
Austria 248 220 223 212 220 210 219 222 220
Belgium (1) 354 301 290 292 295 294 296 294 294
Canada 1,247 1,155 1,170 1,129 1,160 1,125 1,162 1,161 1,157
Chile 592 628 620 652 625 645 631 625
Czech Republic 155 121 122 112 106 114 110 103 105
Denmark 171 150 147 150 157 150 155 155 160
Estonia 41 38 38 32 29 30 32
Finland 234 202 198 187 182 184 183 182 182
France 2,788 2,701 2,683 2,673 2,630 2,672 2,648 2,625 2,616 Germany 1,621 1,468 1,458 1,430 1,391 1,417 1,404 1,391 1,378
Greece 1,027 915 899 876 869 873
Hungary 192 172 175 171 170 165 158
Iceland 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6
Ireland 158 138 135 134 120 132 126 120 114
Israel 168 163 166 171 168 174 173 169 163
Italy 2,909 2,761 2,667 2,747 2,695 2,709 2,708 2,737 2,641 Japan 1,896 1,665 1,657 1,663 1,687 1,640 1,720 1,600 1,740 Korea 1,023 1,073 1,109 1,080 1,106 1,067 1,225 1,033 1,058
Latvia 85 73 70 68 70 69 71 71 69
Lithuania 103 90 90 86 88 84 90 89 85
Luxembourg 16 16 16 15 16 15 15 16 16
Mexico 1,854 1,850 1,854 1,886 1,945 2,008 1,939 1,896 2,000
Netherlands 438 350 348 331 316 329 329 312 307
New Zealand 127 118 111 120 116
Norway 116 109 112 108 105 108
Poland 844 659 673 648 595 631 613 593 580
Portugal 465 363 351 344 337 344 342 336 333
Slovak Republic 224 180 174 166 160 163 162 160 159
Slovenia 67 53 53 45 45 44 45 45 45
Spain 3,917 3,479 3,413 3,313 3,240 3,282 3,271 3,243 3,207
Sweden 359 343 356 341 349 352 332 345 369
Switzerland 234 231 215 233
Turkey 3,451 3,544 3,668 3,955 4,125 4,293
United Kingdom 1,448 1,347 1,354 1,309 1,288 1,283
United States 6,982 6,314 6,143 6,141 6,327 6,294 6,535 6,235 6,211 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.
