Unemployment: International Comparisons: Data on harmonised unemployment rates for major international economies.
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The OECD produces harmonised unemployment rates for OECD members based on the ILO definition of unemployment.
The UK harmonised unemployment rate for Q1 2019 was 3.9%. This was slightly above the rate of the US (3.8%), below that of France (7.7%) but above that of Germany (3.5%). The UK rate was the 13th lowest of the 36 OECD member countries.
The unemployment rate for the Eurozone fell from 7.4% to 7.2% in Q1 2020, while in the G7 increased from 4.2% to 4.3%.
Some countries have seen a large rise in their unemployment rates due to the coronavirus pandemic. In May 2020, the unemployment rate for the G7 was 8.7%, compared to 4.6% in March 2020, although it has only increased in the Eurozone from 7.1% to 7.4%.
Greece had the highest unemployment rate out of the OECD member states for Q1 2020 (15.5%) followed by Spain at 14.0%. The Czech Republic had the lowest unemployment rate in the OECD at 2.0%.
Youth (aged 15-24) unemployment is a major issue in many developed economies at present. In Q1 2020 youth unemployment was 32.9% in Greece, 32.2% in Spain and 27.9% in Italy. UK youth unemployment stood at 11.6%.