In December 2012, the unemployment rate of the 34 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member countries was stable at eight percent, unchanged from the previous month, according to new figures published by the OECD.
In December last year, the unemployment rate for the euro area was stable month on month at 11.7 percent, remaining unchanged since October, after 17 months of uninterrupted increase. In December, the unemployment rate was also stable month on month in the
US at 7.8 percent, while it fell 0.1 points to 7.1 percent in
Canada. In December, the unemployment rate in
Japan rose 0.1 percentage points month on month to 4.2 percent. According to the January 2013 data, the unemployment rate continued to fall in
Canada by 0.1 percentage points to seven percent, while it rose by 0.1 points to 7.9 percent in the United States, both month on month.
The highest unemployment rate in December was registered in Greece at 26.8 percent (in October), followed by Spain at 26.1 percent, Portugal at 16.5 percent, Ireland at 14.7 percent and Slovakia at 14.7 percent, all compared to the previous month. Meanwhile, in December the unemployment rate in Australia, Austria, Germany, Iceland,
Japan, South Korea, Luxembourg and Mexico remained below 5.5 percent.