In August this year, the unemployment rate of the 34 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member countries remained stable at 6.8 percent, with a cumulative decline of 1.3 percentage points since the peak reached in January 2013, according to new figures published by the OECD. The number of unemployed in the OECD region in August was 41.5 million persons, 7.5 million less than in January 2013, but still 6.9 million more than in July 2008, immediately before the global financial crisis.
In August, on month-on-month basis, the unemployment rate for the euro area remain unchanged at 11 percent. In the given month, the unemployment rate in the US decreased by 0.2 percentage points to 5.1 percent, while increasing by 0.1 percentage points in Japan to 3.4 percent and by 0.2 percentage points in Canada to seven percent, all compared to July.