The unemployment rate for the OECD area was 8.3% in May 2009, 0.3 percentage point higher than the previous month and 2.4 percentage points higher than a year earlier.

In the Euro area, the unemployment rate was 9.5% in May 2009, 0.2 percentage point higher than the previous month and 2.1 percentage points higher than in May 2008. For the United States, the unemployment rate for June 2009 was 9.5%, 0.1 percentage point higher than the previous month and 3.9 percentage points higher than a year earlier. For Japan, the rate was 5.2% in May 2009, 0.2 percentage point higher than the previous month and 1.2 percentage points higher than in May 2008.

In May 2009, the unemployment rate for France was 9.3%, 0.2 percentage point higher than the previous month and 1.7 percentage points higher than a year earlier. For Germany, the rate was 7.7% in May 2009, the same as the previous month and 0.3 percentage point higher than in May 2008. For Canada, the unemployment rate was 8.6 in June 2009, 0.2 percentage point higher than the previous month and 2.5 percentage points higher than a year earlier. In March 2009, the rate in the United Kingdom was 7.2%, 0.1 percentage point higher than the previous month and 2.0 percentage points higher than in March 2008. In March 2009, the rate in Italy was 7.4%, the same as the previous month and 0.8 percentage point higher than in March 2008.