The OECD unemployment rate remained broadly stable at 4.9% in March 2025, having been at or below 5.0% since April 2022 (Figure 1 and Table 1). Compared with February 2025, March unemployment rates were unchanged in 23 OECD countries, rose in 5, and declined in 4. Five OECD countries recorded a monthly unemployment rate close to their record lows, including Türkiye which recorded its lowest rate (7.9%) since January 2005. By contrast, the unemployment rate was 2.0 percentage points [p.p.] or more above its record low in eight OECD countries with the largest gaps recorded in Estonia, Luxembourg, Denmark, and Finland (Figure 2 and Table 1). The number of unemployed persons in the OECD increased slightly to 34.2 million in March (Table 2).
In March 2025, OECD unemployment rates for women and men remained broadly stable, at 5.1% and 4.7%, respectively. The unemployment rate for women exceeded that of men in the European Union, the euro area, and 20 OECD countries in March 2025 (or in the latest period available), with the largest gender gaps in Türkiye, Greece, and Colombia. The unemployment rate for men exceeded that of women in 17 OECD countries, including all G7 countries except Italy. By contrast, unemployment rates for women and men were the same in Korea (Figure 3 and Table 3). The OECD unemployment rate was stable for younger workers (aged 15-24) at 11.1% about 7.0 p.p. above the broadly stable unemployment rate for workers aged 25 and above (Table 4).
In the European Union and the euro area, unemployment rates remained stable for the sixth consecutive month at their record lows of 5.8% and 6.2%, respectively. The unemployment rate was stable in three quarters of the 17 OECD euro area countries while decreasing slightly in Latvia and Lithuania. It increased in Finland and in Greece (Table 1). Men aged 25 and above accounted for the largest share of this increase in Finland, while men aged 15-24, men aged 25 and above and women aged 15-24 contributed almost equally to the rise in the unemployment rate in Greece (Figure 4).
In OECD countries outside the euro area, unemployment rates were largely stable or declined in March 2025. Sweden recorded the largest decrease of 0.8 p.p., with men aged 15 and above accounting for the largest share of this decline while women aged 25 and above made up the largest share of a 0.3 p.p. decline in Türkiye. Denmark was the only country that recorded a sharp increase in unemployment in March (by 1.4 p.p.), with men aged 15 and above accounting for the largest share of this rise (Figure 4 and Table 1). Data for April 2025 showed that unemployment rate in Canada picked up to 6.9% from 6.7% in March while remaining stable in the United States at 4.2%.
Methodology
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- Next release: 12 June 2025
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