RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The unemployment rate in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) as a whole fell to 5.2% in February, even before the war in Ukraine made itself felt, and was not only below its pre-crash level for the first time, but also at its lowest level since the statistical series began in 2001.
The share of unemployed in the labor force decreased by a tenth of a percentage point compared to January, and the number of unemployed fell to 34.9 million, which is 700,000 less than at the beginning of the crisis (2020).
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In relative terms, the unemployment rate fell in February, particularly in Canada (by one point to 5.5%), Greece (by nine tenths to 11.9%), South Korea (by nine tenths to 2.7%), Sweden (by seven tenths to 7.3%) and Turkey (by five tenths to 10.7%).
The decline was also smaller in Spain (two tenths to 12.6%) and the United States (two tenths to 3.8%). In the euro zone as a whole, it fell by one-tenth of a percentage point to 6.8%.
By contrast, there were increases in Colombia (three tenths of a percentage point to 12.5%), Mexico (two tenths of a percentage point to 3.7%) and the Czech Republic (two tenths of a percentage point to 2.4%).
Colombia, at 12.5%, was the second member of the organization with the highest unemployment, surpassed only by Spain (12.6%).
In absolute numbers, the countries with the most unemployed were the United States (6.27 million), Colombia (2.98 million), Spain (2.92 million), France (2.25 million), Mexico (2.19 million) and Italy (2.12 million).
The OECD’s chief statistician, Paul Schreyer, said the drop in unemployment in February was “the continuation of a positive trend,” but warned that “given the increasing global uncertainty and geopolitical tensions, the situation must continue to be closely monitored.”