International Comparisons in Unemployment: Key Economic Indicators

International comparison’s data on harmonised unemployment rates for major international economies.

  • The UK harmonised unemployment rate for Q2 2023 was 4.2%, up from 3.9% in Q1 2023. This was above Germany (3.0%) and the US (3.6%) but below France (7.3%).
  • The Eurozone’s rate was 6.5% in Q2 2023, down from 6.6% in Q1, while in the G7 it was unchanged at 4.0%.
  • 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 2023 at 11.9%, followed by Greece at 11.3%. Czech Republic, Japan and South Korea had the lowest at 2.6%.
  • Youth (aged 15-24) unemployment is a major issue in many developed economies at present. In Q2 2023 the youth unemployment rate was 27.7% in Spain, 26.4% in Costa Rica and 25.9% in Greece. It was 12.3% in the UK.

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