In February this year, the unemployment rate of the 34 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member countries decreased to eight percent, compared to the 8.1 percent recorded in the previous month, according to new figures published by the OECD.
In February, the unemployment rate for the euro area was stable month on month at 12 percent, but still 1.1 percentage points higher than its mid-90s peak. In February, the unemployment rate in the US decreased by 0.2 percentage points month on month to 7.7 percent, while it rose 0.2 points to 7.2 percent in Canada. In February, the unemployment rate in Japan rose by 0.1 percentage points month on month to 4.3 percent.
In February, the unemployment rate was close to its pre-crisis level in Japan, while it was two points below from the pre-crisis levels in Germany. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate reached a new peak in February in several European countries, including France (at 10.8%) and Spain (at 26.3%).
According to the March 2013 data, the unemployment rates were significantly below the peaks they reached in the second half of 2009 in Canada and the United States (1.5 and 2.4 percentage points lower, respectively).