The unemployment rate for the OECD area was broadly stable in February 2010 compared with January. The headline rate fell 0.1 percentage point but this reflected the partial unwinding of effects that led to a temporary increase in Korea’s January rate. Month on month, the general picture is of broad stability across all OECD countries, a trend reinforced by the March figures for the United States and Canada, which were unchanged at 9.7% and 8.2%, respectively.

Selected Unemployment Rates, s.a.
January 2010 - February 2010



However, the OECD unemployment rate remains at a level close to post-war highs. The countries with the highest rates across the OECD area in February were Spain (19.0%) the Slovak Republic (14.2%), Ireland (13.2%), Hungary (11.0%), Portugal (10.3%) and France (10.1%). The lowest rates were recorded in Norway (3.3% in January) and the Netherlands (4.0%).

In all OECD countries rates are at least as high as a year ago, varying from no change in Australia to 4.1 percentage points in the Slovak Republic, with the OECD rate 1.0 percentage point higher. Compared with February 2009 the number of unemployed persons in the OECD, at 45.9 million, has risen by 5.4 million.