OECD unemployment rate nudges up to 7.4% in July 2014
The OECD unemployment rate rose by 0.1 percentage point to 7.4% in July 2014. Across the OECD area, 44.8 million people were unemployed, 5.1 million less than the peak recorded in April 2010 but still 10.2 million more than in July 2008.
The unemployment rate was stable in the Euro area, at 11.5%, with little change from the previous month in most countries, except in Italy where it increased by 0.3 percentage point (to 12.6%) and in Slovenia where it fell by 0.3 percentage point (to 9.8%).
In July, the unemployment rate increased by 0.1 percentage point in Japan (to 3.8%) and the United States (to 6.2%), by 0.3 percentage point in Mexico (to 5.2%) and by 0.4 percentage point in Australia (to 6.4%). By contrast, it decreased by 0.1 percentage point in Canada (to 7.0%) and by 0.2 percentage point in Korea (to 3.4%). More recent data for August show that the unemployment rate fell in the United States (by 0.1 percentage point to 6.1%), while it was stable in Canada.
The OECD unemployment rate for women (at 7.5%) was 0.2 percentage point higher than that for men (at 7.3%). The unemployment rate for youth was stable at 14.9%, 2.4 percentage points below the peak recorded in October 2009 but 1.9 percentage points higher than in July 2008. Youth unemployment remains exceptionally high in several Euro area countries such as Spain (at 53.8%), Greece (at 53.1% in May, the latest month available), Italy (at 42.9%), Portugal (at 35.5%) and the Slovak Republic (at 31.7%).
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 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: Thursday, 9 October 2014
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+
Jun-14 Jul-14 Jul-13
Table 1: OECD Unemployment Rates, s.a.
Percentage of active population
2011 2012 2013 2013 2014 2014
Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul
OECD - Total 7.9 7.9 7.9 7.9 7.7 7.5 7.4 7.6 7.5 7.4 7.4 7.3 7.4 Major Seven 7.6 7.4 7.1 7.1 6.9 6.7 6.4 6.7 6.6 6.4 6.4 6.4 6.4 European Union 9.6 10.5 10.8 10.8 10.7 10.5 10.3 10.5 10.4 10.3 10.3 10.2 10.2 Euro area 10.1 11.3 12.0 12.0 11.9 11.7 11.6 11.7 11.7 11.6 11.6 11.5 11.5
Australia 5.1 5.2 5.7 5.7 5.8 6.0 5.9 6.0 5.8 5.8 5.9 6.0 6.4 Austria 4.1 4.4 4.9 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0 4.9 4.9 5.0 5.0 4.9 Belgium 7.2 7.6 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.4 8.5 8.4 8.4 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.5 Canada (1) 7.5 7.2 7.1 7.1 7.0 7.0 7.0 7.0 6.9 6.9 7.0 7.1 7.0
Chile 7.1 6.4 5.9 5.5 6.1 6.4 6.2 6.4 6.1 6.1 6.2 6.2
Czech Republic 6.7 7.0 7.0 6.9 6.7 6.6 6.2 6.6 6.6 6.3 6.2 6.0 6.0 Denmark 7.6 7.5 7.0 7.0 6.9 6.8 6.4 6.9 6.5 6.4 6.4 6.5 6.6 Estonia 12.4 10.0 8.6 8.3 8.6 7.9 7.5 7.8 7.6 7.8 7.3 7.3 Finland 7.8 7.7 8.2 8.1 8.3 8.4 8.6 8.4 8.4 8.5 8.7 8.6 8.7 France 9.2 9.8 10.3 10.3 10.2 10.2 10.2 10.2 10.2 10.1 10.2 10.2 10.3 Germany 6.0 5.5 5.3 5.3 5.2 5.2 5.0 5.2 5.1 5.1 5.0 5.0 4.9 Greece 17.9 24.5 27.5 27.8 27.6 27.3 27.3 27.3 27.3 27.2 Hungary 11.0 10.9 10.2 10.1 9.2 8.0 8.1 7.9 7.9 8.0 8.1 8.1 Iceland 7.1 6.0 5.4 5.3 4.8 5.4 5.1 4.4 5.7 5.1 4.9 5.2 4.4 Ireland 14.7 14.7 13.1 12.8 12.2 12.0 11.7 12.1 11.9 11.8 11.7 11.6 11.5
Israel 5.6 6.9 6.2 6.0 5.8 5.8 6.1 5.8 5.8 5.8 6.0 6.5 6.2
Italy 8.4 10.7 12.2 12.3 12.5 12.5 12.5 12.6 12.4 12.5 12.6 12.3 12.6
Japan 4.6 4.4 4.0 4.0 3.9 3.6 3.6 3.6 3.6 3.6 3.5 3.7 3.8
Korea 3.4 3.2 3.1 3.1 3.0 3.5 3.7 3.9 3.5 3.7 3.7 3.6 3.4
Luxembourg 4.8 5.1 5.9 5.9 6.1 6.2 6.2 6.2 6.2 6.2 6.3 6.2 6.3
Mexico 5.2 5.0 4.9 4.9 4.8 4.9 5.0 4.7 5.1 5.0 5.1 4.9 5.2
Netherlands 4.5 5.3 6.7 7.0 7.0 7.2 7.0 7.3 7.2 7.2 7.0 6.8 6.7
New Zealand 6.5 6.9 6.2 6.1 6.0 5.9 5.6
Norway 3.3 3.2 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.3 3.5 3.4 3.4 3.2 3.3
Poland 9.7 10.1 10.3 10.3 10.0 9.8 9.2 9.8 9.6 9.4 9.2 9.1 9.0 Portugal 12.9 15.8 16.4 16.0 15.4 14.9 14.4 14.9 14.8 14.6 14.4 14.1 14.0 Slovak Republic 13.7 14.0 14.2 14.3 14.1 13.8 13.9 13.8 13.8 13.9 13.9 13.8 13.8 Slovenia 8.2 8.9 10.1 9.9 9.7 10.2 10.2 10.2 10.3 10.3 10.2 10.1 9.8 Spain 21.4 24.8 26.1 26.1 25.8 25.3 24.7 25.2 25.1 24.9 24.7 24.6 24.5
Sweden 7.8 8.0 8.0 8.0 8.0 8.1 8.0 8.1 8.0 8.1 7.8 8.0 7.7
Switzerland 4.0 4.2 4.4 4.7 4.1 4.8 4.4
Turkey 8.8 8.2 8.7 9.0 8.7 9.0(3)
United Kingdom 8.0 7.9 7.5 7.5 7.1 6.7 6.7 6.5 6.4 6.4 United States (2) 9.0 8.1 7.4 7.2 7.0 6.7 6.2 6.7 6.7 6.3 6.3 6.1 6.2 Note:
(1) Canada: Unemployment rate for August 2014 was 7.0 % (2) United States: Unemployment rate for August 2014 was 6.1 %
(3) Following the changes introduced in the Labour Force Survey for Turkey, data from the 1st quarter 2014 are not comparable with previous data.
Table 2: Unemployment Rates by Gender, s.a.
Percentage of corresponding active population
Women Men
2013 2014 2014 2013 2014 2014
Q1 Q2 May Jun Jul Q1 Q2 May Jun Jul
OECD - Total 7.9 7.6 7.4 7.5 7.4 7.5 7.8 7.5 7.3 7.3 7.2 7.3 Major Seven 6.9 6.5 6.3 6.4 6.2 6.4 7.3 6.8 6.5 6.5 6.5 6.5 European Union 10.9 10.5 10.4 10.4 10.3 10.3 10.8 10.5 10.2 10.2 10.1 10.1 Euro area 12.0 11.8 11.7 11.8 11.7 11.7 11.9 11.7 11.5 11.5 11.4 11.4
Australia 5.6 6.2 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.3 5.7 5.8 5.9 5.8 6.1 6.4
Austria 4.9 5.0 4.8 4.9 4.8 4.5 5.0 4.9 5.1 5.0 5.2 5.2
Belgium 8.2 7.7 7.9 7.9 7.9 7.9 8.7 9.0 9.0 9.0 9.0 9.1
Canada 6.6 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.7 6.5 7.5 7.4 7.4 7.3 7.5 7.5
Chile 6.9 6.9 6.6 6.6 6.6 5.3 6.1 5.9 5.9 6.0
Czech Republic 8.3 8.1 7.5 7.5 7.3 7.2 5.9 5.5 5.1 5.1 5.0 5.0
Denmark 7.3 7.3 6.9 7.0 7.0 7.3 6.7 6.4 6.0 5.9 6.0 5.9
Estonia 8.1 7.3 7.0 6.8 6.9 9.0 8.4 7.8 7.7 7.5
Finland 7.5 7.8 8.0 8.1 8.0 8.0 8.8 9.0 9.2 9.2 9.3 9.2
France 10.2 9.9 9.7 9.7 9.7 9.7 10.3 10.5 10.6 10.6 10.7 10.8
Germany 5.0 4.8 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.6 5.7 5.4 5.3 5.3 5.2 5.2
Greece 31.4 30.8 31.1 24.5 24.5 24.2
Hungary 10.2 8.3 8.2 8.2 8.2 10.2 7.7 7.9 8.0 8.0
Iceland 5.1 5.0 5.4 6.4 4.9 4.1 5.7 5.8 4.8 3.6 5.4 4.7
Ireland 10.7 10.0 9.5 9.5 9.4 9.3 15.0 13.7 13.5 13.5 13.4 13.3
Israel 6.3 5.8 6.2 6.2 6.3 6.1 6.2 5.8 6.0 5.7 6.6 6.3
Italy 13.1 13.5 13.7 14.0 13.8 13.9 11.5 11.8 11.6 11.6 11.3 11.6
Japan 3.7 3.4 3.4 3.4 3.5 3.7 4.3 3.8 3.8 3.7 3.8 3.8
Korea 2.9 3.5 3.8 3.9 3.6 3.6 3.3 3.6 3.6 3.6 3.5 3.3
Luxembourg 6.3 6.6 6.6 6.6 6.6 6.6 5.6 5.9 5.9 6.0 5.9 6.0
Mexico 5.0 5.1 4.9 5.2 4.9 5.0 4.9 4.8 5.0 5.0 4.9 5.3
Netherlands 6.3 6.9 6.8 6.8 6.6 6.4 7.1 7.5 7.1 7.1 7.0 6.9
New Zealand 6.9 6.4 6.4 5.6 5.5 4.8
Norway 3.3 3.4 3.2 3.1 3.2 3.7 3.5 3.4 3.3 3.4
Poland 11.1 10.4 9.8 9.8 9.7 9.5 9.7 9.3 8.7 8.7 8.6 8.5 Portugal 16.6 15.0 14.8 14.8 14.7 14.7 16.3 14.8 14.0 14.0 13.5 13.3 Slovak Republic 14.5 13.8 13.9 14.0 13.9 13.9 14.0 13.9 13.8 13.8 13.7 13.7 Slovenia 11.0 11.1 11.3 11.4 11.1 10.9 9.5 9.4 9.2 9.2 9.1 8.9 Spain 26.7 26.0 25.6 25.6 25.6 25.6 25.6 24.6 23.9 23.9 23.7 23.5
Sweden 7.8 7.8 7.7 7.5 7.5 7.6 8.2 8.3 8.2 8.0 8.4 7.9
Switzerland 4.5 4.9 4.5 4.3 4.7 4.3
Turkey 10.5 10.7(1) 8.0 8.2(1)
United Kingdom 7.0 6.4 6.1 8.0 7.0 6.6
United States 7.1 6.5 6.1 6.2 5.9 6.2 7.6 6.9 6.4 6.4 6.3 6.2 Note:
(1) Following the changes introduced in the Labour Force Survey for Turkey, data from the 1st quarter 2014 are not comparable with previous data.
Table 3: Unemployment Rates by Age, s.a.
Percentage of corresponding active population
Youth (15-24) Prime-age and Older Workers (25+)
2013 2014 2014 2013 2014 2014
Q1 Q2 May Jun Jul Q1 Q2 May Jun Jul
OECD - Total 16.1 15.4 14.8 14.9 14.9 14.9 6.7 6.5 6.3 6.4 6.3 6.3 Major Seven 15.6 14.8 14.0 14.0 14.1 14.2 6.0 5.6 5.4 5.5 5.4 5.4 European Union 23.5 22.7 22.1 22.0 21.9 21.7 9.5 9.2 9.0 9.0 9.0 9.0 Euro area 24.0 23.7 23.3 23.3 23.2 23.2 10.7 10.6 10.5 10.5 10.4 10.4
Australia 12.2 12.6 13.4 13.5 13.6 14.1 4.3 4.6 4.4 4.4 4.5 4.8 Austria 9.2 10.0 9.4 9.3 9.4 9.3 4.3 4.2 4.3 4.3 4.3 4.2 Belgium 23.7 24.1 23.3 23.3 23.2 23.2 7.1 7.0 7.2 7.2 7.2 7.2 Canada 13.6 13.7 13.4 13.3 13.4 13.1 5.9 5.8 5.9 5.9 6.1 6.0 Chile 16.0 17.7 15.4 15.4 15.5 4.5 4.8 4.9 4.9 4.9 Czech Republic 18.9 16.8 16.4 16.4 16.9 17.0 6.1 5.9 5.4 5.4 5.2 5.2 Denmark 13.0 13.4 12.6 12.9 12.7 13.0 5.9 5.6 5.4 5.3 5.4 5.4 Estonia 18.0 17.5 17.4 17.1 15.7 7.6 6.9 6.5 6.4 6.5 Finland 19.7 20.5 20.3 20.1 20.2 20.3 6.5 6.7 6.9 7.1 7.0 7.0 France 24.8 23.7 22.6 22.5 22.5 22.5 8.7 8.8 8.9 8.9 9.0 9.0
Germany 7.9 7.9 7.9 7.9 7.9 7.8 5.0 4.8 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.6
Greece 58.4 56.5 53.1 25.4 25.3 25.4
Hungary 27.0 21.2 20.7 20.7 21.3 8.9 7.0 7.1 7.1 7.1 Iceland 10.8 10.8 8.8 6.2 9.2 10.5 4.3 4.3 4.3 4.6 4.3 3.2 Ireland 26.7 26.1 25.0 25.0 25.0 25.1 11.6 10.6 10.4 10.4 10.3 10.2 Israel 10.5 9.2 9.4 8.8 11.0 14.9 5.4 5.1 4.9 5.1 4.7 4.7 Italy 40.0 42.6 43.4 43.0 43.7 42.9 10.3 10.5 10.4 10.4 10.4
Japan 6.8 6.2 6.4 6.3 7.2 6.7 3.8 3.4 3.4 3.3 3.4 3.5
Korea 9.3 10.2 10.2 10.3 10.2 9.2 2.7 3.0 3.2 3.2 3.1 3.0 Luxembourg 17.0 14.3 14.1 14.3 14.0 14.3 5.1 5.6 5.7 5.7 5.7 5.7
Mexico 9.5 9.6 9.8 10.2 9.5 9.2 3.9 3.8 3.9 3.9 3.8 4.3
Netherlands 11.0 11.3 10.8 10.8 10.5 10.4 5.9 6.5 6.3 6.3 6.1 6.0
New Zealand 15.8 15.4 14.2 4.4 4.1 4.0
Norway 9.1 8.1 7.7 7.4 7.6 2.6 2.7 2.6 2.5 2.6
Poland 27.3 25.5 23.9 23.9 23.5 23.2 8.8 8.3 7.9 7.9 7.8 7.7 Portugal 38.1 36.3 37.2 37.3 36.4 35.5 14.7 13.2 12.6 12.6 12.4 12.4 Slovak Republic 33.7 32.0 32.1 32.2 32.1 31.7 12.5 12.3 12.3 12.3 12.3 12.3 Slovenia 21.7 22.3 22.1 22.1 22.1 9.2 9.3 9.3 9.3 9.3 9.2 Spain 55.5 54.0 53.2 53.1 53.4 53.8 23.8 23.0 22.6 22.6 22.4 22.3 Sweden 23.5 23.3 23.2 21.9 23.6 20.7 5.7 5.9 5.7 5.7 5.7 5.8
Switzerland 8.5 9.3 7.7 3.7 4.1 3.9
Turkey 17.0 15.5(1) 7.2 7.7(1)
United Kingdom 20.5 18.6 17.0 5.4 4.8 4.7
United States 15.5 14.4 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.6 6.1 5.5 5.1 5.2 5.0 5.0 Note:
(1) Following the changes introduced in the Labour Force Survey for Turkey, data from the 1st quarter 2014 are not comparable with previous data.
Table 4: Unemployment Levels, s.a.
Thousands of persons
2012 2013 2013 2014 2014
Q4 Q1 Q2 Apr May Jun Jul
OECD - Total 47,672 47,671 46,498 45,877 44,749 44,926 44,890 44,424 44,793 Major Seven 27,152 26,267 25,385 24,665 23,797 23,866 23,900 23,626 23,902 European Union 25,411 26,418 26,044 25,601 25,071 25,210 25,113 24,891 24,850 Euro area 18,078 19,123 18,995 18,767 18,522 18,590 18,572 18,405 18,409
Australia 625 688 707 730 730 718 725 745 789
Austria 189 215 220 218 219 216 219 221 217
Belgium 369 417 419 417 422 420 422 423 425
Canada 1,368 1,348 1,347 1,334 1,347 1,329 1,344 1,370 1,353
Chile 524 491 510 540 521 512 521 525
Czech Republic 367 370 356 351 325 335 324 317 315
Denmark 219 203 199 196 186 185 185 188 190
Estonia 69 58 58 53 50 52 49 48
Finland 207 219 222 225 230 227 232 231 232
France 2,858 3,007 2,995 2,995 2,987 2,971 2,984 3,007 3,026 Germany 2,316 2,270 2,225 2,200 2,151 2,177 2,153 2,123 2,091
Greece 1,195 1,330 1,331 1,301 1,306 1,309
Hungary 476 446 405 358 361 356 364 362
Iceland 11 10 9 10 9 9 9 10 8
Ireland 316 282 263 258 251 253 252 249 247
Israel 247 228 214 219 229 216 225 245 233
Italy 2,746 3,113 3,196 3,208 3,187 3,182 3,229 3,151 3,220 Japan 2,848 2,651 2,560 2,370 2,377 2,360 2,330 2,440 2,480
Korea 820 807 791 933 972 995 976 944 909
Luxembourg 13 15 16 16 16 16 16 16 16
Mexico 2,496 2,539 2,497 2,543 2,583 2,596 2,628 2,524 2,703
Netherlands 468 600 627 642 621 636 623 605 594
New Zealand 165 149 147 146 137
Norway 86 95 94 94 90 92 88 90
Poland 1,749 1,793 1,743 1,711 1,606 1,638 1,605 1,576 1,551
Portugal 836 855 800 768 744 756 744 731 722
Slovak Republic 378 386 382 376 375 376 376 373 373
Slovenia 90 102 97 103 103 104 103 102 100
Spain 5,811 6,051 5,943 5,792 5,675 5,711 5,678 5,637 5,615
Sweden 402 410 410 417 411 419 402 412 402
Switzerland 193 205 193 226 209
Turkey 2,201 2,438 2,459 2,570(1)
United Kingdom 2,511 2,418 2,286 2,164 2,094 2,061
United States 12,506 11,460 10,777 10,394 9,675 9,753 9,799 9,474 9,671 Note:
(1) Following the changes introduced in the Labour Force Survey for Turkey, data from the 1st quarter 2014 are not comparable with previous data.
