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 | 17.6 | 18.0 | 17.3 | 14.2 | 13.4 |
| Algeria | 9.8 | 10.6 | 11.2 | 10.5 | 11.7 |
| Argentina | 7.1 | 7.3 | 7.1 | 8.4 | 8.4 |
| Armenia | 16.2 | 17.8 | 19.5 | 17.1 | 18.0 |
| Australia | 5.7 | 6.1 | 6.1 | 5.7 | 5.6 |
| Austria | 4.9 | 5.6 | 5.8 | 6.0 | 5.5 |
| Azerbaijan | 5.0 | 4.9 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| Bahrain | 4.3 | 4.1 | 4.2 | 4.3 | - |
| Bangladesh | 4.3 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 4.0 |
| Belarus | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 0.8 |
| Belgium | 8.5 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 7.9 | 7.1 |
| Belize | 14.2 | 12.1 | 10.2 | 11.1 | 9.7 |
| Bolivia | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | - |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 44.9 | 43.9 | 43.2 | 41.7 | 39.5 |
| Brazil | 7.1 | 6.8 | 8.5 | 11.5 | 12.7 |
| Brunei | 7.7 | 6.9 | 6.9 | 6.9 | 6.9 |
| Bulgaria | 11.8 | 10.7 | 10.0 | 8.0 | 7.1 |
| Canada | 7.1 | 6.9 | 6.9 | 7.0 | 6.3 |
| Chile | 5.9 | 6.4 | 6.2 | 6.5 | 6.7 |
| China | 4.1 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 3.9 |
| Colombia | 9.6 | 9.1 | 8.9 | 9.2 | 9.4 |
| Costa Rica | 8.3 | 9.7 | 9.6 | 9.5 | 9.3 |
| Croatia | 21.5 | 19.4 | 17.6 | 14.7 | 12.2 |
| Cyprus | 15.9 | 16.2 | 14.9 | 13.0 | 11.1 |
| Czech Republic | 7.0 | 6.1 | 5.1 | 4.0 | 2.9 |
| Denmark | 5.8 | 5.0 | 4.5 | 4.2 | 4.2 |
| Dominican Republic | 15.0 | 14.5 | 14.0 | 13.3 | - |
| Ecuador | 4.0 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 5.4 | - |
| Egypt | 13.2 | 13.0 | 12.8 | 12.5 | 11.8 |
| El Salvador | 5.9 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | - |
| Estonia | 8.6 | 7.3 | 6.2 | 6.8 | 5.8 |
| Eurozone | 12.0 | 11.6 | 10.9 | 10.0 | 9.1 |
| Finland | 8.4 | 8.7 | 9.3 | 8.9 | 8.6 |
| France | 10.3 | 10.3 | 10.4 | 10.1 | 9.4 |
| Germany | 6.9 | 6.7 | 6.4 | 6.1 | 5.7 |
| Ghana | 2.2 | 2.2 | 2.2 | 2.3 | 2.4 |
| Greece | 27.5 | 26.6 | 25.0 | 23.6 | 21.5 |
| Hungary | 10.1 | 7.7 | 6.8 | 5.1 | 4.2 |
| Iceland | 5.4 | 4.9 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 2.8 |
| Indonesia | 6.2 | 5.9 | 6.2 | 5.6 | 5.5 |
| Iran | 10.5 | 11.5 | 11.8 | 12.5 | 12.1 |
| Iraq | 7.9 | 7.6 | 7.7 | 8.0 | 8.2 |
| Ireland | 13.8 | 11.9 | 10.0 | 8.4 | 6.7 |
| Israel | 6.3 | 5.9 | 5.3 | 4.8 | 4.2 |
| Italy | 12.1 | 12.6 | 11.9 | 11.7 | 11.3 |
| Jamaica | 15.3 | 13.7 | 13.5 | 13.2 | 13.0 |
| Japan | 4.0 | 3.6 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 2.8 |
| Jordan | 12.6 | 11.9 | 13.1 | 15.3 | 18.3 |
| Kazakhstan | 5.2 | 5.0 | 5.1 | 4.9 | 4.9 |
| Korea | 3.1 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 3.7 |
| Kosovo | 30.0 | 35.3 | 32.9 | 27.5 | 30.5 |
| Kuwait | 2.6 | 2.9 | 2.2 | 2.1 | 2.1 |
| Latvia | 11.9 | 10.9 | 9.9 | 9.7 | 8.7 |
| Lebanon | 6.2 | 6.2 | 6.2 | 6.2 | 6.3 |
| Lithuania | 11.4 | 10.1 | 8.8 | 7.6 | 6.7 |
| Luxembourg | 6.8 | 7.1 | 6.8 | 6.4 | 5.9 |
| Macedonia | 29.0 | 28.0 | 26.1 | 23.7 | 22.4 |
| Malaysia | 3.1 | 2.9 | 3.1 | 3.5 | 3.4 |
| Malta | 6.4 | 5.8 | 5.4 | 4.7 | 4.0 |
| Mexico | 4.3 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 3.4 | 3.1 |
| Moldova | 4.1 | 3.5 | 4.2 | 3.8 | 3.3 |
| Mongolia | 7.9 | 7.9 | 7.5 | 10.0 | 8.8 |
| Montenegro | 19.5 | 18.0 | 17.6 | 17.7 | 17.0 |
| Morocco | 9.2 | 9.7 | 9.6 | 9.9 | 9.9 |
| Myanmar | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Netherlands | 7.3 | 7.4 | 6.9 | 6.0 | 4.9 |
| New Zealand | 5.8 | 5.4 | 5.4 | 5.1 | 4.7 |
| Nicaragua | 5.3 | 5.6 | 6.0 | 6.2 | - |
| Nigeria | 3.7 | 4.6 | 4.3 | 7.1 | 7.0 |
| Norway | 3.8 | 3.6 | 4.5 | 4.7 | 4.2 |
| Oman | 17.1 | 16.4 | 15.8 | 15.8 | 16.0 |
| Pakistan | 6.0 | 6.0 | 5.9 | 6.0 | - |
| Panama | 4.1 | 4.8 | 5.1 | 5.5 | 6.1 |
| Paraguay | 7.9 | 6.5 | 5.5 | 7.4 | - |
| Peru | 6.0 | 5.9 | 6.5 | 6.7 | 6.9 |
| Philippines | 7.1 | 6.8 | 6.3 | 5.5 | 5.7 |
| Poland | 13.4 | 11.4 | 9.7 | 8.2 | 6.6 |
| Portugal | 16.5 | 14.1 | 12.7 | 11.2 | 9.0 |
| Puerto Rico | 14.0 | 14.3 | 13.0 | 11.7 | 11.5 |
| Qatar | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| Romania | 7.1 | 6.8 | 6.8 | 5.9 | 4.9 |
| Russia | 5.5 | 5.2 | 5.6 | 5.5 | 5.2 |
| Saudi Arabia | 5.6 | 5.8 | 5.7 | 5.6 | 5.9 |
| Serbia | 22.1 | 19.2 | 17.7 | 15.3 | 13.5 |
| Singapore | 1.9 | 2.0 | 1.9 | 2.1 | 2.2 |
| Slovakia | 14.2 | 13.2 | 11.5 | 9.7 | 8.1 |
| Slovenia | 10.2 | 9.7 | 9.0 | 8.0 | 6.6 |
| South Africa | 24.7 | 25.1 | 25.4 | 26.7 | 27.5 |
| Spain | 26.1 | 24.4 | 22.1 | 19.6 | 17.2 |
| Sri Lanka | 4.4 | 4.3 | 4.7 | 4.4 | 4.2 |
| Sweden | 8.0 | 7.9 | 7.4 | 6.9 | 6.7 |
| Switzerland | 3.2 | 3.0 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.2 |
| Taiwan | 4.2 | 4.0 | 3.8 | 3.9 | 3.8 |
| Tajikistan | 2.4 | 2.4 | 2.2 | 2.3 | 2.1 |
| Thailand | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 1.0 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 3.7 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.9 | - |
| Tunisia | 15.8 | 15.0 | 15.2 | 15.5 | 15.4 |
| Turkey | 9.1 | 10.0 | 10.3 | 10.9 | 10.9 |
| USA | 7.4 | 6.2 | 5.3 | 4.9 | 4.4 |
| Ukraine | 7.2 | 9.3 | 9.1 | 9.4 | 9.5 |
| United Arab Emirates | 2.8 | 2.4 | 2.1 | 1.6 | 1.7 |
| United Kingdom | 7.6 | 6.2 | 5.4 | 4.9 | 4.4 |
| Uruguay | 6.5 | 6.6 | 7.5 | 7.9 | 7.9 |
| Venezuela | 7.5 | 7.0 | 6.8 | - | - |
| Vietnam | 3.6 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 3.2 | 3.2 |
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Unemployment Economic News
United States: Unemployment rate falls to near 50-year low in September despite softening payroll growth
October 5, 2018
The September employment report showed the U.S. economy adding jobs at a solid pace, although much slower than in previous months.
Australia: New jobs jump in August
September 13, 2018
Seasonally-adjusted employment increased by 44,000 in August compared to the previous month, following the revised 4,300 jobs shed in July (previously reported: -3,900 jobs) and easily overshooting analysts’ expectations for a gain of 15,000.
United Kingdom: Wage growth shows sign of life in May-July amid tight labor market
September 11, 2018
In the May-July period the unemployment rate stayed at 4.0%, the joint-lowest rate since 1975 and below the Central Bank’s estimate for the equilibrium unemployment rate of 4.25%.
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