Unemployment – International Comparisons: Key Economic Indicators

The OECD produces harmonised unemployment rates for OECD members based on the ILO definition of unemployment.

The UK harmonised unemployment rate for Q2 2024 was 4.2%. This was above Germany (3.4%) and the US (4.0%) but below France (7.5%).

The Eurozone’s rate was 6.5% in Q2 2024, while in the G7 it was 4.3%.

Unemployment rates rose in almost all the OECD countries following the coronavirus outbreak, although the size of the increase varied widely.

Spain had the highest unemployment rate out of the OECD member states in Q2 2024 at 11.6%, followed by Colombia at 10.2%. Japan had the lowest at 2.6%.

Youth (aged 15-24) unemployment is a major issue in many developed economies at present. In Q2 2024 the youth unemployment rate was 26.4% in Spain, and it was over 20% for a further nine OECD countries. It was 13.4% in the UK.

This briefing is part of our Economic Indicators series. Visit the main Economic Indicators page to see data on other parts of the economy.