Unemployment remains at rock bottom in OECD countries

The jobless rate remained stable at record low levels in December, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) reported.

For the OECD region, the unemployment rate came in at 4.9% in December, marking its sixth straight month at that level.

Alongside the record low for the jobless rate, the number of unemployed workers in the OECD also declined to its lowest annual mark of 33.9 million, the Paris-based group reported.

The OECD noted that the overall unemployment rate “masks wide differences across countries.”

Several countries — including Canada, France, Germany and the U.S. — are at or near national record lows. In December, the jobless rate declined in both Canada and the U.S., while it was stable in Australia, Japan, Mexico and the European Union.

However, the rate increased in Colombia, Israel, Korea and Turkey, the OECD said.

Additionally, it noted that more recent data showed the unemployment rate remained stable in Canada in January, while it continued to fall in the U.S., reaching a new record low there of 3.4%.

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