The unemployment rate for the OECD area was 7.8% in April 2009, 0.1 percentage point higher than the previous month and 2.2 percentage points higher than a year earlier.

In the Euro area, the unemployment rate was 9.2% in April 2009, 0.3 percentage point higher than the previous month and 1.9 percentage points higher than in April 2008. For the United States, the unemployment rate for May 2009 was 9.4%, 0.5 percentage point higher than the previous month and 3.8 percentage points higher than a year earlier. For Japan, the rate was 5.0% in April 2009, 0.2 percentage point higher than the previous month and 1.1 percentage points higher than in April 2008.

In April 2009, the unemployment rate for France was 8.9%, 0.1 percentage point higher than the previous month and 1.3 percentage points higher than a year earlier. For Germany, the rate was 7.7% in April 2009, 0.1 percentage point higher than the previous month and 0.3 percentage point higher than in April 2008. For Canada, the unemployment rate was 8.4% in May 2009, 0.4 percentage point higher than the previous month and 2.3 percentage points higher than a year earlier. In February 2009, the rate in the United Kingdom was 6.9%, 0.2 percentage point higher than the previous month and 1.8 percentage points higher than in February 2008.