LABOUR • UNEMPLOYMENT

UNEMPLOYMENT RATES
Unemployment

The unemployment rate is one measure of the extent of The unemployment rates shown here differ from rates
labour market slack, as well as being an important derived from registered unemployed at labour offices that
indicator of economic and social well-being. Breakdowns of are often published in individual countries. Data on
unemployment by gender show how women are faring registered unemployment have limited international
compared to men. comparability, as the rules for registering at labour offices
vary from country to country.
When unemployment is high, some persons become
Definition
discouraged and stop looking for work; they are then
Unemployed persons are defined as those who report that excluded from the labour force. This implies that the
they are without work, that they are available for work and unemployment rate may fall, or stop rising, even though
that they have taken active steps to find work in the last there has been no underlying improvement in the labour
four weeks. The ILO Guidelines specify what actions count market.
as active steps to find work; these include answering
vacancy notices, visiting factories, construction sites and
Comparability
other places of work, and placing advertisements in the
press as well as registering with labour offices. All OECD countries use the ILO Guidelines for measuring
The unemployment rate is defined as the number of unemployment in their labour force surveys. The
unemployed persons as a percentage of the labour force, operational definitions used in national labour force
where the latter consists of the unemployed plus those in surveys may, however, vary slightly across countries.
paid or self-employment. Unemployment levels are also likely to be affected by
changes in the survey design and the survey conduct.
Despite these limits, the unemployment rates shown here
are of good international comparability and fairly
consistent over time.
Overview
When looking at total unemployment rates averaged
over the three years ending 2011, countries can be
divided into three groups: a low unemployment group
with rates below 5% (Austria, Japan, Korea,
Luxembourg, Norway, the Netherlands and
Switzerland); a middle group with unemployment
rates between 5% and 10%; and a high unemployment
group with unemployment rates of 10% and above
(Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, the
Slovak Republic and Turkey). Sources
In most OECD countries, unemployment rates grew • OECD (2012), Main Economic Indicators, OECD Publishing.
over the last three years, with marked increases in • For non-member countries: National sources.
Estonia, Greece, Ireland and Spain. Further information
The breakdown of unemployment by gender shows
Analytical publications
that, in line with the overall rate, the unemployment
• OECD (2012), OECD Employment Outlook, OECD Publishing.
rates for both men and women increased sharply from
2007 to 2010. The unemployment rate for men, which • OECD (2011), Society at a Glance: OECD Social Indicators,
had been lower than the rate for women, rose OECD Publishing.
considerably faster and by 2009 was higher than the • Venn, D. (2012), “Eligibility Criteria for Unemployment
rate for women. This is first explained by the fact that Benefits”, OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working
job losses over the stage of the crisis were particularly Papers, No. 131.
severe in sectors which traditionally have been Statistical publications
occupied by men – namely construction, • OECD (2011), Labour Force Statistics, OECD Publishing.
manufacturing, mining and quarrying. Between 2009
Online databases
and 2010, the rise in the overall OECD unemployment
• OECD Employment and Labour Market Statistics.
rates decelerated faster for men so that the men to
women unemployment ratio began to decrease. In Websites
2011, the OECD rate fell for the first time since the • OECD Employment Data, www.oecd.org/els/employment/
crisis began, and the rate for men had dropped back to data.
a lower level than the rate for women. • OECD Employment Policies, www.oecd.org/els/employment.
• OECD Labour Statistics, www.oecd.org/statistics/labour.

142 OECD FACTBOOK 2013 © OECD 2013

 LABOUR • UNEMPLOYMENT
UNEMPLOYMENT RATES

Unemployment rates
As a percentage of labour force

Women Men Total

2000 2008 2010 2011 2000 2008 2010 2011 2000 2008 2010 2011
Australia 6.1 4.6 5.4 5.3 6.5 4.0 5.1 4.9 6.3 4.2 5.2 5.1
Austria 4.3 4.1 4.2 4.3 3.1 3.6 4.6 4.0 3.6 3.8 4.4 4.1
Belgium 8.5 7.6 8.5 7.2 5.6 6.5 8.1 7.1 6.9 7.0 8.3 7.2
Canada 6.7 5.7 7.2 7.0 7.0 6.6 8.7 7.8 6.8 6.1 8.0 7.5
Chile 10.3 9.5 9.7 8.7 9.3 6.8 7.2 6.1 9.7 7.8 8.2 7.1
Czech Republic 10.3 5.6 8.4 7.9 7.3 3.5 6.4 5.8 8.7 4.4 7.3 6.7
Denmark 4.8 3.7 6.5 7.5 3.9 3.2 8.4 7.7 4.3 3.4 7.5 7.6
Estonia 12.7 5.2 14.3 11.8 14.7 5.8 19.5 13.1 13.7 5.5 16.9 12.5
Finland 10.6 6.7 7.6 7.1 9.1 6.1 9.1 8.4 9.8 6.4 8.4 7.8
France 10.8 8.4 10.2 10.3 7.5 7.3 9.4 9.2 9.0 7.8 9.8 9.7
Germany 8.4 7.7 6.6 5.7 7.8 7.4 7.5 6.2 8.0 7.5 7.1 5.9
Greece 17.1 11.4 16.2 21.4 7.4 5.1 9.9 15.0 11.2 7.7 12.6 17.7
Hungary 5.6 8.0 10.7 10.9 7.0 7.7 11.6 11.0 6.4 7.8 11.2 10.9
Iceland .. 2.6 6.7 6.2 .. 3.3 8.3 7.9 .. 3.0 7.6 7.1
Ireland 4.1 4.9 9.7 10.6 4.3 7.5 16.9 17.5 4.2 6.3 13.7 14.4
Israel 9.2 6.5 6.5 5.6 8.4 5.7 6.8 5.6 8.8 6.1 6.6 5.6
Italy 13.6 8.5 9.7 9.6 7.7 5.5 7.6 7.5 10.1 6.7 8.4 8.4
Japan 4.5 3.9 4.6 4.2 4.9 4.1 5.4 4.9 4.7 4.0 5.1 4.6
Korea 3.7 2.6 3.4 3.1 5.0 3.6 4.0 3.6 4.4 3.2 3.7 3.4
Luxembourg 2.9 5.9 5.5 6.2 1.8 4.1 3.8 3.9 2.2 4.9 4.6 4.9
Mexico .. 4.1 5.3 5.3 .. 3.9 5.4 5.2 2.5 4.0 5.4 5.2
Netherlands 3.9 3.4 4.5 4.4 2.4 2.8 4.4 4.5 3.1 3.1 4.5 4.5
New Zealand 6.0 4.2 6.9 6.7 6.3 4.1 6.2 6.4 6.2 4.2 6.5 6.5
Norway 3.1 2.4 3.0 3.1 3.4 2.7 4.1 3.5 3.2 2.6 3.6 3.3
Poland 18.2 8.0 10.0 10.5 14.4 6.5 9.3 9.0 16.1 7.1 9.7 9.7
Portugal 5.0 9.0 12.1 13.2 3.2 6.6 10.0 12.7 4.0 7.7 11.0 12.9
Slovak Republic 18.7 11.0 14.7 13.7 19.1 8.4 14.3 13.6 18.9 9.6 14.5 13.6
Slovenia 7.0 4.8 7.1 8.2 6.5 4.0 7.4 8.2 6.7 4.4 7.3 8.2
Spain 17.0 13.0 20.5 22.2 8.2 10.1 19.7 21.2 11.7 11.3 20.1 21.6
Sweden 5.3 6.5 8.3 7.5 5.9 5.9 8.5 7.5 5.6 6.2 8.4 7.5
Switzerland .. .. 5.0 4.5 .. .. 4.2 3.7 .. .. 4.5 4.1
Turkey .. 10.0 11.4 10.1 .. 9.6 10.4 8.3 .. 9.7 10.7 8.8
United Kingdom 4.8 5.1 6.8 7.3 5.9 6.1 8.6 8.7 5.4 5.7 7.8 8.0
United States 4.1 5.4 8.6 8.5 3.9 6.1 10.5 9.4 4.0 5.8 9.6 9.0
EU 27 10.1 7.6 9.6 9.8 7.8 6.7 9.7 9.6 8.8 7.1 9.7 9.7
OECD .. 6.1 8.1 8.0 .. 5.9 8.5 7.9 6.1 6.0 8.3 8.0
Brazil .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 12.7 7.9 6.8 6.0
China .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
India .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
Indonesia .. 9.5 .. .. .. 7.7 .. .. 6.1 8.4 7.3 6.7
Russian Federation 10.4 6.1 6.9 6.2 10.6 6.6 8.0 7.0 10.5 6.4 7.5 6.6
South Africa 26.5 26.3 27.5 27.9 20.4 20.0 22.8 22.4 23.3 22.9 24.9 24.9

1 2 http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888932708693

Unemployment rates: total

As a percentage of labour force

3-year average at end of period (2009-11) 3-year average at beginning of period (2000-02)

30

25

20

15

10

1 2 http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888932708712

OECD FACTBOOK 2013 © OECD 2013 143

 From:
OECD Factbook 2013
Economic, Environmental and Social Statistics

Access the complete publication at:

https://doi.org/10.1787/factbook-2013-en

Please cite this chapter as:

OECD (2013), “Unemployment rates”, in OECD Factbook 2013: Economic, Environmental and Social
Statistics, OECD Publishing, Paris.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1787/factbook-2013-57-en

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