OECD employment rate increases to 66.2% in the third quarter of 2015 The

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Paris, 15^th January 2016

OECD Quarterly Employment Situation News Release: 3rd Quarter 2015

OECD employment rate increases to 66.2% in the third quarter of 2015

The OECD area employment rate – defined as the share of people of working-age who are in employment – increased by 0.1 percentage point, to 66.2% in the third quarter of 2015. It is 0.5 percentage point higher than one year before but 0.3 percentage point below its level in the second quarter of 2008.

The employment rate increased in two-thirds of countries in the third quarter of 2015.

The euro area employment rate grew by 0.3 percentage point (to 64.6%), the eighth straight quarter of growth, and is now up 1.2 percentage points from the trough reached in the first quarter of 2013. Outside the euro area, the employment rate increased by 0.3 percentage point in Turkey (to 50.3%) and Korea (to 65.8%), by 0.2 percentage point in the United Kingdom (to 72.7%) and Japan (73.4%, the 14th consecutive quarter of increase) and by 0.1 percentage point in Mexico (to 60.6%). It was stable in the United States (at 68.7%) and decreased by 0.1 percentage point in Canada (to 72.5%).

In the third quarter of 2015, the largest increases in employment rates were observed in Estonia (up 2 percentage points, to 73.7%), Belgium (up 0.6 percentage point, to 62.0%) and Hungary (up 0.6 percentage point, to 64.3%, 9.7 percentage points higher than its crisis low).

Compared with the third quarter of 2014, the OECD area employment rate rose for all age groups: by 0.6 percentage point for youth (aged 15-24), by 0.5 percentage point for prime-age workers (aged 25-54) and by 0.7 percentage point for older workers (aged 55-64). Over the same period, labour force participation rate fell by 0.1 percentage point among youth (to 46.6%), was stable for prime-age people (at 81.5%) and increased by 0.6 point among older people (to 61.2%).

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: mid-April 2016

63 65 67 69 71 73

Employment rates

Employment as a percentage of the working-age population

OECD - Total Euro area

Japan (1) United States

Canada United Kingdom

(1) Note: statistical breaks for Japan in Q1-2011 and Q3-2011

-0.2 -0.1 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8

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

Q3 2014 to Q3 2015 OECD Total - Percentage points

Change in employment rate Change in activity rate (2)

(2) Proportion of persons of working-age who are either employed or unemployed and actively looking for a job.

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OECD Quarterly Employment Situation News Release: 3rd Quarter 2015 Table 1: OECD employment rates and levels (15-64)

Employment as a percentage of corresponding working age population and levels, seasonally adjusted

Employment rates Levels

2011 2012 2013 2014 2008 2014 2015 Thousands

Q2 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q3 - 2015

OECD - Total 64.8 65.0 65.1 65.7 66.5 65.6 65.7 65.9 66.1 66.1 66.2 544,070 Major Seven 67.5 67.7 68.0 68.6 69.6 68.6 68.7 68.9 69.0 69.1 69.1 331,333 European Union 64.2 64.1 64.1 64.8 65.8 64.7 64.9 65.1 65.3 65.5 65.7 215,751 Euro area 64.2 63.7 63.5 63.8 65.9 63.8 63.9 64.0 64.2 64.3 64.6 140,758

Australia 72.7 72.3 72.0 71.6 73.3 71.6 71.6 71.5 71.7 72.0 72.2 11,341 Austria 71.1 71.4 71.4 71.1 71.0 71.2 70.9 71.1 71.1 70.9 71.1 4,072 Belgium 61.9 61.8 61.8 61.9 62.2 61.9 61.9 62.1 62.1 61.4 62.0 4,515 Canada 71.8 72.1 72.4 72.3 73.6 72.2 72.2 72.5 72.5 72.6 72.5 17,264 Chile 61.3 61.8 62.3 62.2 57.2 62.3 62.1 62.3 62.2 62.4 62.6 7,498 Czech Republic 65.7 66.6 67.7 69.0 66.6 68.7 69.2 69.6 69.8 70.1 70.3 4,935 Denmark 73.2 72.6 72.6 72.8 78.1 72.5 73.1 73.6 73.6 73.4 73.2 2,670 Estonia 65.3 67.2 68.5 69.6 70.0 70.0 69.9 70.4 70.2 71.7 73.7 626 Finland 69.0 69.4 68.9 68.7 71.2 68.9 68.5 68.6 68.7 68.4 68.6 2,366 France¹ 63.9 64.1 64.1 63.8 64.9 63.8 63.6 63.8 63.8 63.8 63.7 26,041 Germany 72.7 73.0 73.5 73.8 69.8 73.7 74.0 73.9 74.0 73.8 74.0 39,073 Greece 55.1 50.8 48.8 49.4 61.5 49.2 49.6 49.7 49.8 50.7 51.1 3,564 Hungary 55.4 56.7 58.1 61.8 56.3 61.3 62.1 62.5 63.0 63.7 64.3 4,192 Iceland 78.5 79.7 81.1 81.6 84.4 82.0 81.4 82.3 84.2 84.8 84.8 172 Ireland 58.9 58.9 60.5 61.7 68.0 61.3 61.9 62.4 62.7 63.1 63.5 1,907 Israel² 60.9 66.5 67.1 67.9 59.9 67.7 67.8 68.0 67.9 68.2 68.6 3,495 Italy 56.8 56.6 55.5 55.7 58.8 55.6 55.7 55.9 56.0 56.2 56.5 22,064 Japan 71.1 70.6 71.7 72.7 70.9 72.6 72.8 72.9 73.1 73.2 73.4 56,517 Korea 63.8 64.2 64.4 65.3 63.9 65.2 65.5 65.5 65.7 65.5 65.8 23,926 Luxembourg³ 64.6 65.9 65.7 66.6 64.2 66.8 65.9 67.1 66.6 67.3 65.6 253 Mexico 60.0 60.9 60.8 60.4 61.2 60.4 60.2 60.2 60.6 60.5 60.6 48,029 Netherlands 74.2 74.4 73.6 73.1 77.1 72.9 73.1 73.5 74.1 74.1 74.1 8,123 New Zealand 72.5 72.0 72.8 74.2 74.9 74.0 74.3 74.8 74.8 74.4 73.7 2,208 Norway 75.3 75.8 75.4 75.2 78.1 75.4 75.1 75.2 74.9 74.9 74.8 2,550 Poland 59.3 59.7 60.0 61.7 59.1 61.5 62.0 62.3 62.6 62.7 63.0 15,822 Portugal 63.8 61.4 60.6 62.6 68.3 62.4 63.0 63.1 63.2 64.0 64.0 4,309 Slovak Republic 59.3 59.7 59.9 61.0 61.9 60.7 61.1 61.6 62.1 62.6 62.8 2,405 Slovenia 64.4 64.1 63.3 63.9 68.1 64.3 63.8 64.1 64.5 65.3 65.8 907 Spain 58.0 55.8 54.8 56.0 65.0 55.8 56.1 56.7 57.0 57.6 58.1 17,792 Sweden 73.6 73.8 74.4 74.9 74.4 74.8 75.1 74.9 75.2 75.3 75.5 4,666 Switzerland 79.4 79.4 79.6 79.9 79.5 79.7 79.7 81.0 80.4 80.1 79.7 4,403 Turkey⁴ 48.4 48.9 49.5 49.5 45.1 49.7 49.3 49.5 50.1 50.0 50.3 25,991 United Kingdom 69.3 69.9 70.5 71.9 71.8 71.9 72.0 72.2 72.6 72.5 72.7 29,951 United States 66.6 67.1 67.4 68.1 71.2 68.0 68.2 68.5 68.5 68.7 68.7 140,423

1Statistical breaks for France in Q4-2013, following the inclusion of data for overseas departments. European Union and Euro area aggregates are also affected, and, to a lesser extent OECD-Total and Major seven aggregates.

2Following changes introduced in the Labour Force Survey for Israel, data from Q1 2012 onwards are not comparable with previous data.

3Following changes introduced in the Labour Force Survey for Luxembourg, data from Q1 2015 onwards are not comparable with previous data.

4Following changes introduced in the Labour Force Survey for Turkey, data from Q1 2014 onwards are not comparable with previous data.

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OECD Quarterly Employment Situation News Release: 3rd Quarter 2015

Table 2: OECD employment rates (15-64) by gender

Employment as a percentage of corresponding working age population, seasonally adjusted

Women Men

2014 2014 2015 2014 2014 2015

Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3

OECD - Total 57.9 57.9 58.1 58.2 58.4 58.5 73.6 73.6 73.8 74.0 74.0 74.1 Major Seven 62.9 62.9 63.2 63.2 63.4 63.4 74.5 74.6 74.7 74.8 74.8 74.9 European Union 59.6 59.7 59.9 60.1 60.3 60.4 70.1 70.2 70.3 70.6 70.6 70.9 Euro area 58.7 58.7 58.9 59.1 59.3 59.5 69.0 69.0 69.1 69.4 69.4 69.7

Australia 66.1 66.1 66.0 66.1 66.6 66.8 77.1 77.0 77.1 77.4 77.5 77.6 Austria 66.9 66.6 67.0 66.9 66.8 67.3 75.3 75.3 75.2 75.4 75.0 75.0 Belgium 58.0 58.3 58.0 58.2 57.7 58.0 65.8 65.5 66.1 66.0 65.1 66.0 Canada 69.4 69.3 69.4 69.5 69.5 69.4 75.2 75.1 75.5 75.6 75.6 75.8 Chile 51.7 51.8 51.7 51.3 51.6 52.1 72.8 72.4 72.8 73.1 73.1 73.0 Czech Republic 60.7 60.8 61.6 61.9 62.3 62.6 77.0 77.3 77.4 77.4 77.8 77.9 Denmark 69.8 70.0 71.0 70.9 70.1 69.8 75.8 76.2 76.1 76.3 76.5 76.5 Estonia 66.3 67.5 66.9 67.1 68.0 69.9 73.0 72.4 74.1 73.4 75.4 77.5 Finland 68.0 68.1 67.7 67.8 67.6 67.7 69.5 69.0 69.4 69.6 69.1 69.4 France 60.4 60.2 60.5 60.5 60.6 60.6 67.3 67.2 67.3 67.2 67.1 66.9 Germany 69.5 69.7 69.7 69.8 69.8 70.0 78.1 78.2 78.0 78.1 77.6 77.9 Greece 41.1 41.3 41.6 41.6 42.6 42.7 58.0 58.1 58.0 58.3 59.0 59.7 Hungary 55.9 56.2 56.7 57.1 57.6 58.2 67.8 68.2 68.6 69.1 70.0 70.6 Iceland 79.3 79.9 80.4 81.5 82.1 81.6 84.0 82.9 84.2 86.9 87.5 87.9 Ireland 56.7 56.8 57.2 57.4 57.6 57.9 66.9 67.2 67.7 68.2 68.8 69.1 Israel 64.2 64.4 64.2 64.1 64.2 65.0 71.5 71.2 71.9 71.8 72.3 72.3 Italy 46.8 46.9 47.1 47.0 47.1 47.2 64.7 64.6 64.8 65.0 65.3 65.9 Japan 63.7 63.8 64.2 64.2 64.5 64.7 81.6 81.6 81.6 81.7 81.8 81.8 Korea 54.9 55.1 55.2 55.6 55.4 55.8 75.7 75.8 75.7 75.8 75.6 75.6 Luxembourg¹ 60.5 59.3 61.1 61.1 61.9 59.5 72.6 72.4 72.9 72.0 72.5 71.5 Mexico 44.2 44.0 43.8 44.4 44.3 44.6 78.1 77.9 78.2 78.4 78.2 78.0 Netherlands 68.1 68.1 68.5 69.1 69.3 69.3 78.2 78.1 78.4 79.1 78.9 78.9 New Zealand 69.1 69.0 69.9 69.8 69.2 68.6 79.7 79.9 79.8 80.1 79.9 79.2 Norway 73.4 73.0 73.5 72.9 73.3 73.3 77.0 77.1 76.8 76.9 76.5 76.1 Poland 55.2 55.4 55.8 56.1 56.5 56.8 68.2 68.6 68.9 69.1 68.8 69.3 Portugal 59.7 60.0 60.1 60.2 61.5 61.4 65.8 66.2 66.2 66.4 66.7 66.8 Slovak Republic 54.3 54.2 54.6 55.4 55.7 56.0 67.7 67.9 68.5 68.8 69.4 69.5 Slovenia 60.0 59.9 59.9 60.0 61.0 61.4 67.6 67.5 68.0 68.7 69.3 70.1 Spain 51.2 51.1 51.8 52.0 52.5 52.9 60.7 61.0 61.5 62.0 62.7 63.2 Sweden 73.1 73.6 73.1 73.6 73.7 74.1 76.6 76.6 76.7 76.9 76.9 76.9 Switzerland 75.2 74.7 76.7 76.2 75.6 75.4 84.5 84.6 85.2 84.5 84.5 84.0 Turkey 29.5 29.5 29.8 30.2 30.2 30.5 69.5 69.1 69.1 69.9 69.7 69.9 United Kingdom 67.1 67.2 67.6 67.7 67.9 68.0 76.8 77.0 77.0 77.4 77.2 77.4 United States 63.0 62.9 63.3 63.2 63.4 63.3 73.5 73.7 73.9 74.1 74.2 74.1

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OECD Quarterly Employment Situation News Release: 3rd Quarter 2015 Table 3: OECD employment rates by age

Employment as a percentage of corresponding working age population, seasonally adjusted

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

2014 2015 2014 2015 2014 2015

Q3 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q3 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q3 Q1 Q2 Q3

OECD - Total 39.6 40.0 40.0 40.2 76.0 76.4 76.4 76.5 57.5 57.8 58.0 58.2 Major Seven 42.9 43.3 43.3 43.4 78.6 78.9 78.8 78.9 60.8 61.0 61.3 61.4 European Union 32.6 33.0 32.9 32.9 77.5 77.7 77.9 78.1 51.9 52.7 53.0 53.4 Euro area 30.6 30.8 30.6 30.5 76.0 76.4 76.4 76.7 51.9 52.8 53.2 53.5

Australia 57.5 57.6 58.3 58.6 78.7 79.2 79.4 79.2 62.1 61.8 62.0 61.8 Austria 51.6 52.0 51.4 51.6 83.3 83.4 83.1 83.5 45.4 45.6 45.9 46.5 Belgium 24.3 24.9 23.4 23.2 78.8 78.9 78.1 78.7 42.3 43.1 43.8 44.6 Canada 55.5 56.1 56.0 55.6 81.0 81.5 81.5 81.5 60.5 60.5 60.6 60.9 Chile 29.9 31.0 30.1 30.1 74.8 74.5 74.9 75.2 63.8 63.6 64.2 64.4 Czech Republic 27.3 28.4 28.3 28.1 83.8 84.2 84.4 84.6 54.4 54.9 55.6 55.6 Denmark 54.5 55.7 55.3 54.4 82.2 82.0 81.6 82.2 63.8 64.8 65.2 64.2 Estonia 33.4 35.3 39.1 80.4 81.4 82.5 84.5 66.3 62.0 62.1 Finland 41.3 41.2 40.5 40.6 80.5 80.1 79.8 80.0 58.7 59.6 59.3 60.6 France 27.8 27.8 27.8 27.6 79.5 79.4 79.3 79.2 46.8 48.3 48.7 48.6 Germany 46.4 46.1 44.8 44.6 83.6 83.8 83.6 83.7 65.9 65.7 66.0 66.3 Greece 14.1 13.2 13.2 13.0 62.7 63.2 64.5 65.0 33.7 33.3 33.9 34.6 Hungary 23.3 24.5 25.5 26.2 79.6 80.2 80.5 80.8 42.2 43.6 45.0 46.0 Iceland 67.9 72.5 73.1 73.1 85.3 87.7 88.7 87.8 83.4 84.3 83.9 86.5 Ireland 28.7 28.7 28.9 29.0 72.6 73.5 74.0 74.3 53.4 54.5 55.2 55.8 Israel 78.0 78.4 78.9 78.7 64.6 66.1 66.2 67.1 Italy 15.6 15.1 15.3 15.8 67.7 68.1 68.1 68.5 46.8 47.7 48.4 48.4 Japan 40.5 40.1 40.6 40.4 82.1 82.5 82.4 82.7 68.8 69.5 69.5 70.4 Korea 26.3 26.4 27.0 26.9 75.7 75.9 75.6 75.9 65.7 66.3 65.5 65.9 Luxembourg¹ 17.1 27.8 30.0 33.7 83.9 82.3 83.2 82.1 43.4 42.1 38.6 34.4 Mexico 41.4 40.9 40.5 40.8 69.7 70.6 70.7 70.5 54.8 54.8 54.4 55.3 Netherlands 58.7 60.9 61.3 60.7 81.6 82.2 82.1 82.3 60.1 61.2 61.7 61.8 New Zealand 51.3 53.9 53.5 52.2 81.9 82.2 81.6 81.2 76.0 75.7 75.6 74.5 Norway 49.6 50.4 50.5 50.7 84.0 83.1 83.2 83.1 72.4 72.2 72.3 72.3 Poland 25.6 25.9 26.0 26.0 78.7 79.3 79.3 79.4 42.7 43.6 43.7 44.6 Portugal 23.4 22.8 22.8 22.8 77.5 78.1 79.1 78.9 48.3 48.6 50.4 50.2 Slovak Republic 22.1 23.4 22.9 23.4 76.6 77.6 78.0 78.1 45.6 46.1 46.7 47.2 Slovenia 25.9 28.8 30.7 29.8 81.9 82.1 82.5 83.7 35.8 36.1 37.5 36.7 Spain 16.5 17.4 17.9 18.4 67.6 68.4 69.3 69.7 44.6 46.1 46.6 47.0 Sweden 43.4 43.9 43.4 43.6 85.6 85.4 85.6 85.7 74.0 74.4 74.3 74.4 Switzerland 60.9 60.7 60.4 60.9 86.9 87.5 87.3 86.8 71.3 73.3 72.6 72.0 Turkey 32.8 33.6 33.7 34.8 58.7 59.4 59.4 59.6 31.5 31.9 32.0 31.5 United Kingdom 48.3 49.6 49.6 50.1 82.2 82.4 82.3 82.3 61.0 61.6 61.8 62.4 United States 47.5 48.3 48.4 48.6 76.8 77.2 77.3 77.2 61.5 61.3 61.7 61.4

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