In August this year, the unemployment rate of the 34 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member countries remained stable at 5.3 percent compared to July, according to new figures published by the OECD. The number of unemployed in the OECD region in August was 33.5 million people, about one million more than in April 2008.
In August, the unemployment rate for the euro area was at 8.1 percent, decreasing 0.1 percentage point month on month. In the given month, the unemployment rate decreased by 0.5 percentage points in Italy to 9.7 percent, by 0.1 percentage point in Japan to 2.4 percent and increased by 0.2 percentage points in Canada to six percent and by 0.4 percentage points in South Korea to 4.2 percent, while remaining stable in Mexico at 3.3 percent and in the US at 3.9 percent, all compared to July.