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.
Looking for forecasts? FocusEconomics Consensus Forecasts cover approx. 30 macro-economic indicators per country for a 5-year forecast period and quarterly forecasts for the most important economic variables. Get Details.
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
-
United Kingdom: Furlough scheme continues to buttress the labor market, notwithstanding fresh lockdown
February 23, 2021
According to the ONS, in October–December the unemployment rate rose to 5.1%—an over four-year high, and up from 5.0% in the previous rolling quarter.
-
Luxembourg: Unemployment rate stable in first month of 2021
February 22, 2021
In January, the number of unemployed workers came in at 19,882, which was down 0.2% from December’s result of 19,918.
-
Australia: Unemployment rate at 10-month low in January
February 18, 2021
Seasonally-adjusted employment increased by 29,100 in January, following 50,000 jobs gain in December.
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