The standardised unemployment rate for the OECD area was 5.5% in May 2007, the same as the previous month and 0.5 percentage point lower than a year earlier.

In the Euro area, the standardised unemployment rate was 7.0% in May 2007, 0.1 percentage point lower than the previous month and 0.9 percentage point lower than a year earlier. The United States’ standardised unemployment rate for June 2007 was 4.5%, the same as the previous month and 0.1 percentage point lower than a year earlier. For Japan, the rate was 3.8% in May 2007, the same as the previous month and 0.2 percentage point lower than in May 2006.

In May 2007, the standardised unemployment rate in France was 8.7%, 0.1 percentage point lower than the previous month and 0.9 percentage point lower than a year earlier. For Germany, the rate was 6.6% in May 2007, 0.1 percentage point lower than the previous month and 1.8 percentage point lower than in May 2006. For Canada, the standardised unemployment rate was 6.1% in May 2007, the same as the previous month and the same as a year earlier. In March 2007, the standardised unemployment rate in Italy remained at 6.2%, 1.1 percentage point lower than a year earlier. In March 2007, the rate in the United Kingdom was 5.4%, 0.1 percentage point lower than the previous month and 0.2 percentage point higher than a year earlier.