Unemployment rate stable at 8.5%

by S. C.

The unemployment rate for the OECD area was 8.5% in July 2009, the same as the previous month and 2.4 percentage points higher than a year earlier.

In the Euro area, the unemployment rate was 9.5% in July 2009, 0.1 percentage point higher than the previous month and 2.0 percentage points higher than in July 2008. For the United States, the unemployment rate for August 2009 was 9.7%, 0.3 percentage point higher than the previous month and 3.5 percentage points higher than a year earlier. For Japan, the rate was 5.7% in July 2009, 0.3 percentage point higher than the previous month and 1.7 percentage points higher than in July 2008.

In July 2009, the unemployment rate for France was 9.8%, 0.2 percentage point higher than the previous month and 2.0 percentage points higher than a year earlier. For Germany, the rate was 7.7% in July 2009, the same as the previous month and 0.5 percentage point higher than in July 2008. For Canada, the unemployment rate was 8.7% in August 2009, 0.1 percentage point higher than the previous month and 2.6 percentage points higher than a year earlier. In May 2009, the rate in the United Kingdom was 7.7%, 0.2 percentage point higher than the previous month and 2.4 percentage points higher than in May 2008.