OECD unemployment rate stable at 6.7% in September 2015 | WPN World People News

The OECD unemployment rate was stable at 6.7% in September 2015, 1.4 percentage point below the January 2013 peak. Across the OECD area, 40.9 million people were unemployed, 8.0 million less than in January 2013, but still 6.4 million more than in July 2008, immediately before the crisis.

OECD Harmonised Unemployment Rates, s.a.

In September, the euro area unemployment rate declined by 0.1 percentage point to 10.8%, its lowest level since January 2012. Within the euro area, the largest fall was observed in Spain (down 0.2 percentage point, to 21.6%, now having decreased every month for two years), while the unemployment rate fell slightly or was stable in other countries.

The unemployment rate in September was stable in Japan (at 3.4%) and in the United States (at 5.1%), while it increased in Canada (by 0.1 percentage point, to 7.1%). More recent data show that in October 2015, the unemployment rate fell by 0.1 percentage point in the United States (to 5.0%) and in Canada (to 7.0%).

While OECD unemployment rate for various demographic groups remained broadly stable in September, decreases since the peak of January 2013 vary across these groups. The sharpest fall was recorded for youth (15-24 year-old) (down 3.4 percentage points, to 13.9%, for young men and down 2.8 percentage points, to 13.4%, for young women). Over the same period, the unemployment rate declined less markedly for people above 25, with declines by 1.2 percentage point for women (to 5.9%) and by 1.1 percentage point for men (to 5.7%).

Source: Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development