The standardised unemployment rate for the OECD area remained at 5.8% in January 2007, the same as the previous month but 0.5 percentage point lower than a year earlier.

In the Euro area, the standardised unemployment rate was 7.4% in January 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 February 2007 was 4.5%, 0.1 percentage point lower than the previous month and 0.3 percentage point lower than a year earlier. For Japan, the rate was 4.0% in January 2007, 0.1 percentage point lower than the previous month and 0.5 percentage point lower than in January 2006.

In January 2007, the standardised unemployment rate in France was 8.4%, 0.1 percentage point lower than the previous month and 1.1 percentage points lower than a year earlier. For Germany, the rate was 7.7% in January 2007, 0.2 percentage point lower than the previous month and 1.3 percentage points lower than in January 2006. For Canada, the standardised unemployment rate rose to 6.2% in January 2007, 0.1 percentage point higher than the previous month but 0.4 percentage point lower than a year earlier. In November 2006, the rate in the United Kingdom remained at 5.4%, 0.3 percentage point higher than a year earlier. In September 2006, the standardised unemployment rate in Italy remained at 6.7%, 1.0 percentage point lower than a year earlier.