The unemployment rate in the OECD area decreased by 0.1 percentage point, to 6.4% in March 2016, 1.7 percentage points below its peak value in January 2013.
Overall, 39.7 million people were unemployed in the OECD area, 9.1 million fewer than in January 2013, but still 7.2 million more than in April 2008, before the crisis.
In March 2016, the unemployment rate in the euro area decreased by 0.2 percentage point, to 10.2%, its lowest level since August 2011, and 1.9 percentage points below the peak observed in April 2013.
The largest decreases (of 0.2 percentage point) in the unemployment rate were observed in France (to 10.0%), Ireland (to 8.6%), and Italy (to 11.4%).
The unemployment rate also decreased in March 2016 in Canada (by 0.2 percentage point, to 7.1%), Japan (by 0.1 percentage point, to 3.2%), and Mexico (by 0.1 percentage point, to 4.1%), while it increased by 0.1 percentage point, to 5.0%, in the United States.
More recent data shows that in April 2016, the unemployment rate remained stable in the United States and Canada.
