In May this year, the unemployment rate of the 34 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member countries fell by 0.1 percentage point for the second consecutive month to 5.2 percent compared to April, according to new figures published by the OECD. The number of unemployed in the OECD region in May was 33.2 million people, 16.1 million less than the January 2013 peak but still 0.5 million more than in April 2008, immediately before the crisis.
In May, the unemployment rate for the euro area was at 8.4 percent, remaining unchanged month on month. In the given month, the unemployment rate remained unchanged in Canada at 5.8 percent. The unemployment rate decreased by 0.3 percentage points in Japan to 2.2 percent and in Italy to 10.7 percent, by 0.2 percent in Austria to 4.6 percent, in Spain to 15.8 percent, in Australia to 5.4 percent and in Mexico to 3.2 percent, and by 0.1 percent in the US to 3.8 percent, while increasing by 0.2 percentage points in South Korea to four percent and by 0.1 percentage point in Portugal to 7.3 percent, all compared to April.