The unemployment rate for the OECD area was broadly stable in March 2010 at 8.7%; a rise of 0.1 percentage point compared with February. The general picture is of broad stability across most OECD countries. April 2010 figures for Canada were 0.1 percentage point lower than in March and 0.2 percentage points higher in the United States.



The OECD unemployment rate still remains at a level close to post-war highs. The countries with the highest rates across the OECD area in March were Spain (19.1%), the Slovak Republic (14.1%), Ireland (13.2%), Hungary (11.0%), Portugal (10.5%) and France (10.1%). The lowest rates were recorded in Korea (3.8%), the Netherlands (4.1%), Mexico and Austria (both at 4.9%).

In March 2010 the number of unemployed persons in the OECD stood at 46.1 million, 3.9 million higher than in March 2009.