What is the Unemployment Rate?
The unemployment rate is defined as the percentage of unemployed workers in the total labor force. Workers are considered unemployed if they currently do not work, despite the fact that they are able and willing to do so. The total labor force consists of all employed and unemployed people within an economy.
The unemployment rate provides insights into the economy’s spare capacity and unused resources. Unemployment tends to be cyclical and decreases when the economy expands as companies contract more workers to meet growing demand. Unemployment usually increases as economic activity slows.
There are different types of unemployment: Frictional unemployment refers to temporary unemployment during the period when people are searching for a job. Structural unemployment is a mismatch between workers’ skills or locations and job requirements. Seasonal unemployment is caused by seasonal patterns in economic activity, such as harvesting or tourism.
The methodology for calculating the unemployment rate often varies among countries since different definitions of employment and unemployment, as well as different data sources, are used.
The table below shows the unemployment rate by country for the last five years.
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Unemployment Data
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albania | 17.1 | 18.0 | 17.7 | - | - |
| Algeria | 9.8 | 10.6 | 11.2 | 10.5 | - |
| Argentina | 7.1 | 7.3 | 7.1 | 8.4 | - |
| Armenia | 16.2 | 17.8 | 19.5 | 17.1 | - |
| Australia | 5.7 | 6.1 | 6.1 | 5.7 | - |
| Austria | 4.9 | 5.6 | 5.8 | 6.0 | - |
| Azerbaijan | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.6 | - | - |
| Bahrain | 4.3 | 4.1 | 4.2 | - | - |
| Bangladesh | - | - | 4.1 | 4.1 | - |
| Belarus | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 0.8 | - |
| Belgium | 8.5 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 7.8 | - |
| Belize | 14.1 | 12.1 | 10.2 | 8.0 | - |
| Bolivia | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | - | - |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 27.5 | 27.5 | 27.7 | - | - |
| Brazil | 7.1 | 6.8 | 8.5 | 11.5 | - |
| Brunei | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 2.0 | - |
| Bulgaria | 11.8 | 10.7 | 10.0 | 8.0 | - |
| Canada | 7.1 | 6.9 | 6.9 | 7.0 | - |
| Chile | 6.0 | 6.3 | 6.3 | 6.5 | - |
| China | 4.1 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 4.0 | - |
| Colombia | 9.6 | 9.1 | 8.9 | 9.2 | - |
| Costa Rica | 8.3 | 9.7 | 9.6 | 9.5 | - |
| Croatia | 21.6 | 19.6 | 17.2 | 14.8 | - |
| Cyprus | 15.9 | 16.2 | 14.9 | 13.1 | - |
| Czech Republic | 7.7 | 7.7 | 6.5 | 5.5 | - |
| Denmark | 5.6 | 4.9 | 4.5 | 4.2 | - |
| Dominican Republic | 15.0 | 14.5 | 14.0 | 13.3 | - |
| Ecuador | 4.0 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 5.4 | - |
| Egypt | 13.3 | 13.2 | 12.8 | 12.6 | - |
| El Salvador | 5.9 | 7.0 | - | - | - |
| Estonia | 8.6 | 7.3 | 6.2 | - | - |
| Eurozone | 12.0 | 11.6 | 10.9 | 10.0 | - |
| Finland | 8.2 | 8.7 | 9.4 | 8.8 | - |
| France | 10.3 | 10.3 | 10.4 | 10.0 | - |
| Germany | 6.9 | 6.7 | 6.4 | 6.1 | - |
| Ghana | - | - | - | - | - |
| Greece | 27.5 | 26.5 | 25.0 | 23.5 | - |
| Hungary | 10.1 | 7.7 | 6.1 | 5.1 | - |
| Iceland | 5.4 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 3.0 | - |
| Indonesia | 6.2 | 5.9 | 6.2 | 5.6 | - |
| Iran | - | - | 11.8 | 12.5 | - |
| Iraq | 15.1 | 15.0 | 15.5 | 16.1 | - |
| Ireland | 13.1 | 11.3 | 9.5 | 7.9 | - |
| Israel | 6.3 | 5.9 | 5.3 | 4.8 | - |
| Italy | 12.1 | 12.6 | 11.9 | 11.7 | - |
| Jamaica | 15.2 | 13.7 | 13.5 | 13.3 | - |
| Japan | 4.0 | 3.6 | 3.4 | 3.1 | - |
| Jordan | 12.6 | 11.9 | 13.1 | 15.3 | - |
| Kazakhstan | 5.2 | 5.0 | 5.1 | 4.9 | - |
| Korea | 3.1 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 3.7 | - |
| Kosovo | 30.0 | 35.3 | - | - | - |
| Kuwait | 2.1 | 2.1 | 2.1 | 2.1 | - |
| Latvia | 11.9 | 10.9 | 9.9 | 9.7 | - |
| Lebanon | 6.5 | - | 6.5 | 6.8 | - |
| Lithuania | 11.4 | 10.1 | 8.8 | 7.6 | - |
| Luxembourg | 6.9 | 7.1 | 6.8 | 6.4 | - |
| Macedonia | 29.0 | 28.0 | 26.1 | 23.7 | - |
| Malaysia | 3.1 | 2.9 | 3.1 | 3.5 | - |
| Malta | 6.4 | 5.8 | 5.4 | 4.7 | - |
| Mexico | 4.3 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 3.4 | - |
| Moldova | 4.1 | 3.5 | 4.2 | 3.8 | - |
| Mongolia | 7.9 | 7.9 | 8.0 | 7.9 | - |
| Montenegro | - | - | - | - | - |
| Morocco | 9.2 | 9.9 | 9.6 | 9.5 | - |
| Myanmar | 5.2 | 5.1 | 5.0 | 4.8 | - |
| Netherlands | 7.3 | 7.4 | 6.9 | 6.0 | - |
| New Zealand | 5.8 | 5.4 | 5.4 | 5.1 | - |
| Nicaragua | 5.7 | 6.8 | 6.0 | - | - |
| Nigeria | 7.1 | 4.8 | 4.3 | 5.0 | - |
| Norway | 3.5 | 3.5 | 4.4 | 4.8 | - |
| Oman | 7.3 | 7.2 | 17.3 | 17.5 | - |
| Pakistan | 6.0 | 6.0 | 5.9 | 6.0 | - |
| Panama | 4.1 | 4.8 | 5.1 | 5.5 | - |
| Paraguay | 5.0 | 6.0 | 5.5 | 7.4 | - |
| Peru | 6.0 | 5.9 | 6.5 | 6.7 | - |
| Philippines | 7.1 | 6.8 | 6.3 | 5.5 | - |
| Poland | 13.4 | 11.4 | 9.7 | 8.3 | - |
| Portugal | 16.5 | 14.1 | 12.7 | 11.2 | - |
| Puerto Rico | 14.0 | 14.3 | 13.0 | 11.7 | - |
| Qatar | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | - |
| Romania | 7.1 | 6.8 | 6.8 | 5.9 | - |
| Russia | 5.5 | 5.2 | 5.6 | 5.5 | - |
| Saudi Arabia | 5.6 | 5.8 | 5.7 | 5.6 | - |
| Serbia | 22.1 | 19.2 | 17.7 | 15.3 | - |
| Singapore | 1.9 | 2.0 | 1.9 | 2.1 | - |
| Slovakia | 14.2 | 13.2 | 11.5 | 9.7 | - |
| Slovenia | 10.2 | 9.7 | 9.0 | 8.0 | - |
| South Africa | 24.7 | 25.1 | 25.4 | 26.7 | - |
| Spain | 26.1 | 24.4 | 22.1 | 19.6 | - |
| Sri Lanka | 4.4 | 4.4 | 4.7 | 4.4 | - |
| Sweden | 8.0 | 7.9 | 7.4 | 7.0 | - |
| Switzerland | 3.2 | 3.0 | 3.2 | 3.3 | - |
| Taiwan | 4.2 | 4.0 | 3.8 | 3.9 | - |
| Tajikistan | 2.4 | 2.4 | 2.2 | 2.3 | - |
| Thailand | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.8 | - |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 3.7 | 3.3 | 3.4 | - | - |
| Tunisia | 15.8 | 15.0 | 15.2 | 15.5 | - |
| Turkey | 9.1 | 10.0 | 10.3 | 10.9 | - |
| USA | 7.4 | 6.2 | 5.3 | 4.9 | - |
| Ukraine | 7.2 | 9.3 | 9.1 | 9.4 | - |
| United Arab Emirates | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.8 | 3.7 | - |
| United Kingdom | 7.6 | 6.2 | 5.4 | 4.9 | - |
| Uruguay | 6.5 | 6.6 | 7.5 | 7.9 | - |
| Venezuela | 7.5 | 7.0 | 6.8 | - | - |
| Vietnam | 3.6 | 3.4 | 3.4 | - | - |
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Unemployment Economic News
Australia: Labor market reports strong outturn in April, revised data shows employment shrank in March
May 17, 2018
Seasonally-adjusted employment increased by 22,600 in April compared to the prior month, contrasting the revised 700 jobs shed in March (previously reported: +4,900 jobs) and overshooting analysts’ expectations of weaker job growth.
United Kingdom: Employment surges and real wage growth returns in first quarter
May 15, 2018
The unemployment rate remained at a multi-decade low of 4.2% in the January-March period, supported by a 197,000 surge in employment over the prior quarter—a figure far higher than analysts were expecting.
Greece: Unemployment rate inches up in February
May 10, 2018
According to data recently released by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (EL.STAT), the number of unemployed persons decreased 2,045 in February compared with January.
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