The unemployment rate in the OECD area decreased by 0.1 percentage point in October 2017, to 5.6%, returning to its pre-crisis level observed in April 2008. However, at 35.1 million, the total number of unemployed remains 2.5 million higher than in April 2008.
In the euro area, the unemployment rate decreased by 0.1 percentage point, to 8.8% in October, declining marginally in France (to 9.4%).
In the euro area, the unemployment rate decreased by 0.1 percentage point, to 8.8% in October, and the largest declines (of 0.2 percentage points) were observed in Belgium (to 6.9%), Latvia (8.2%), Luxembourg (5.7%), the Netherlands (4.5%), the Slovak Republic (7.0%) and Slovenia (6.2%). It remained stable in Germany (3.6%), Italy (11.1%), Portugal (8.5%), and Spain (16.7%).
The unemployment rate also decreased marginally in the United States (to 4.1%) and Korea (3.6%) and was stable in Japan (2.8%) and Mexico (3.4%). The unemployment rate increased by 0.1 percentage point in Canada (to 6.3%), although more recent data indicates that it decreased by 0.4 percentage point in November (to 5.9%). For the United States, more recent data shows that the unemployment rate remained stable in November.
In October, the unemployment rate for youth (15-24 years old) in the OECD area decreased by 0.1 percentage point, to 11.8%. The youth unemployment rate continued to fall in the euro area (by 0.1 percentage point, to 18.6%), now sitting 6.1 percentage points below its peak in February 2013. However, the youth unemployment rate remained above 30% in Greece (40.2% in August, the latest available month), Spain (38.2%), and Italy (34.7%).
