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
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albania | 17.3 | 14.2 | 13.4 | 12.3 | 11.2 |
| Algeria | 11.2 | 10.5 | 11.7 | 11.7 | - |
| Argentina | 7.1 | 8.4 | 8.4 | 9.2 | 9.8 |
| Armenia | 19.5 | 17.1 | 18.0 | 16.9 | 17.9 |
| Australia | 6.1 | 5.7 | 5.6 | 5.3 | 5.2 |
| Austria | 5.8 | 6.0 | 5.5 | 4.9 | 4.5 |
| Azerbaijan | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 4.9 | 5.5 |
| Bahrain | 3.5 | 4.3 | 4.1 | - | - |
| Bangladesh | 4.2 | 4.1 | 4.0 | - | - |
| Belarus | 5.9 | 5.8 | 5.6 | 4.8 | 4.0 |
| Belgium | 8.5 | 7.9 | 7.1 | 6.0 | 5.4 |
| Belize | 10.2 | 11.1 | 9.7 | 9.4 | 10.4 |
| Bolivia | 4.6 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 4.8 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 27.7 | 25.4 | 20.5 | 18.4 | 15.7 |
| Brazil | 8.5 | 11.5 | 12.7 | 12.3 | 11.9 |
| Brunei | 7.8 | 8.6 | 9.3 | 9.2 | 9.2 |
| Bulgaria | 8.0 | 6.7 | 5.7 | 4.7 | - |
| Canada | 6.9 | 7.0 | 6.3 | 5.8 | 5.7 |
| Chile | 6.3 | 6.5 | 6.6 | 7.4 | 7.2 |
| China | 4.1 | 4.0 | 3.9 | 3.8 | 3.6 |
| Colombia | 8.9 | 9.2 | 9.4 | 9.7 | 10.5 |
| Costa Rica | 9.6 | 9.5 | 9.3 | 12.0 | 12.4 |
| Croatia | 17.6 | 14.7 | 12.2 | 9.6 | 7.9 |
| Cyprus | 14.9 | 13.0 | 11.1 | 8.4 | 7.0 |
| Czech Republic | 5.1 | 4.0 | 2.9 | 2.2 | 2.0 |
| Denmark | 4.5 | 4.1 | 4.2 | 3.7 | 3.6 |
| Dominican Republic | - | - | - | - | - |
| Ecuador | 4.3 | 5.4 | 4.4 | 4.1 | - |
| Egypt | 12.8 | 12.5 | 11.8 | 9.9 | 7.9 |
| El Salvador | 7.0 | 7.0 | - | - | - |
| Estonia | - | - | - | - | - |
| Eurozone | 10.9 | 10.0 | 9.1 | 8.2 | 7.6 |
| Finland | 9.3 | 8.9 | 8.6 | 7.4 | 6.7 |
| France | 10.4 | 10.0 | 9.4 | 9.0 | 8.5 |
| Germany | 6.4 | 6.1 | 5.7 | 5.2 | 5.0 |
| Ghana | - | - | - | - | - |
| Greece | 25.0 | 23.6 | 21.5 | 19.3 | 17.3 |
| Hungary | 6.8 | 5.1 | 4.2 | 3.7 | 3.4 |
| Iceland | 4.0 | 3.0 | 2.8 | 2.7 | 3.5 |
| Indonesia | 6.2 | 5.6 | 5.5 | 5.3 | 5.3 |
| Iran | 11.8 | 12.5 | 12.1 | 12.1 | 10.6 |
| Iraq | 10.7 | 10.8 | 13.0 | 12.9 | 12.8 |
| Ireland | 9.9 | 8.4 | 6.7 | 5.8 | 5.0 |
| Israel | 5.3 | 4.8 | 4.2 | 4.0 | 3.8 |
| Italy | 11.9 | 11.7 | 11.2 | 10.6 | 9.9 |
| Jamaica | 13.5 | 13.2 | 11.6 | 9.1 | 7.7 |
| Japan | 3.4 | 3.1 | 2.8 | 2.4 | 2.4 |
| Jordan | 13.0 | 15.3 | 18.3 | 18.6 | 19.1 |
| Kazakhstan | 5.1 | 4.9 | 4.9 | 4.8 | - |
| Korea | 3.6 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.8 | 3.8 |
| Kosovo | - | - | - | - | - |
| Kuwait | 2.2 | 2.2 | 1.8 | 2.1 | 2.2 |
| Latvia | 9.9 | 9.7 | 8.7 | 7.4 | 6.4 |
| Lebanon | 6.2 | 6.3 | 6.1 | 6.2 | 6.2 |
| Lithuania | 8.8 | 7.6 | 6.7 | 6.0 | 6.4 |
| Luxembourg | 6.8 | 6.3 | 5.9 | 5.5 | 5.4 |
| Malaysia | 3.1 | 3.5 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.3 |
| Malta | 5.4 | 4.7 | 4.0 | 3.7 | 3.4 |
| Mexico | 4.0 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 3.4 | 2.9 |
| Moldova | 4.2 | 3.8 | 3.3 | 2.9 | 4.3 |
| Mongolia | 7.5 | 10.0 | 8.8 | 7.7 | 10.0 |
| Montenegro | 17.2 | 21.3 | 22.1 | 17.8 | 16.2 |
| Morocco | 9.6 | 9.9 | 10.2 | 9.7 | 9.3 |
| Myanmar | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | - |
| Netherlands | 6.9 | 6.0 | 4.9 | 3.8 | 3.4 |
| New Zealand | 5.4 | 5.1 | 4.7 | 4.3 | 4.1 |
| Nicaragua | - | - | - | - | - |
| Nigeria | 4.3 | 7.1 | 8.4 | 8.2 | 8.1 |
| North Macedonia | 26.1 | 23.7 | 22.4 | 20.7 | 17.3 |
| Norway | 4.5 | 4.7 | 4.2 | 3.8 | 3.7 |
| Oman | 3.6 | 3.3 | 3.0 | 2.9 | 2.7 |
| Pakistan | 5.9 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 5.7 | - |
| Panama | 5.1 | 5.5 | 6.1 | 6.0 | 7.1 |
| Paraguay | 5.4 | 6.0 | 5.2 | 5.6 | 5.7 |
| Peru | 6.4 | 6.7 | 6.9 | 6.7 | 6.6 |
| Philippines | 6.3 | 5.5 | 5.7 | 5.3 | 5.1 |
| Poland | 9.7 | 8.2 | 6.6 | 5.8 | 5.2 |
| Portugal | 12.4 | 11.1 | 8.9 | 7.0 | 6.6 |
| Puerto Rico | 12.9 | 11.7 | 11.5 | 10.3 | 8.4 |
| Qatar | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Romania | 6.8 | 5.9 | 5.0 | 4.2 | 3.9 |
| Russia | 5.6 | 5.5 | 5.2 | 4.8 | 4.6 |
| Saudi Arabia | 5.7 | 5.6 | 5.9 | 6.0 | 5.6 |
| Serbia | 17.7 | 15.3 | 13.5 | 12.7 | 10.4 |
| Singapore | 1.9 | 2.1 | 2.2 | 2.1 | 2.3 |
| Slovakia | 11.5 | 9.7 | 8.1 | 6.5 | 5.8 |
| Slovenia | 9.0 | 8.0 | 6.6 | 5.1 | 4.5 |
| South Africa | 25.4 | 26.7 | 27.5 | 27.1 | 28.7 |
| Spain | 22.1 | 19.6 | 17.2 | 15.3 | 14.1 |
| Sri Lanka | 4.7 | 4.4 | 4.2 | 4.4 | - |
| Sweden | 7.4 | 6.9 | 6.7 | 6.3 | 6.8 |
| Switzerland | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 2.6 | 2.3 |
| Taiwan | 3.8 | 3.9 | 3.8 | 3.7 | 3.7 |
| Tajikistan | 2.2 | 2.3 | 2.1 | 0.0 | - |
| Thailand | 0.7 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 1.0 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 3.4 | 4.0 | 4.8 | 185 | - |
| Tunisia | 15.2 | 15.5 | 15.4 | 15.5 | 15.2 |
| Turkey | 10.3 | 10.9 | 10.9 | 11.0 | 13.7 |
| USA | 5.3 | 4.9 | 4.3 | 3.9 | 3.7 |
| Ukraine | 9.1 | 9.3 | 9.5 | 8.8 | 8.2 |
| United Arab Emirates | 1.9 | 1.6 | 2.5 | 2.2 | 2.6 |
| United Kingdom | 5.4 | 4.9 | 4.4 | 4.1 | 3.8 |
| Uruguay | 7.5 | 7.9 | 7.9 | 8.4 | 8.9 |
| Venezuela | 6.8 | 7.3 | 7.2 | 6.9 | - |
| Vietnam | 2.3 | 2.3 | 2.2 | 2.2 | 2.2 |
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Unemployment Economic News
-
New Zealand: Unemployment drops as underutilization increases in Q1
May 5, 2021
The seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate dipped to 4.7% in Q1 2021 from 4.9% in the previous quarter.
-
Euro Area: Unemployment rate dips in March
April 30, 2021
Labor market conditions in the common currency block improved in March.
-
Spain: Unemployment rate broadly stable in Q1
April 29, 2021
The jobless rate dipped from 16.1% in Q4 2020 to 16.0% in the first quarter of 2021, when a third wave of Covid-19 infections hit the country.
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