OECD employment and labour force participation rates reached record highs in Q2 2026, at 70.4% and 74.2%, respectively. However, both rates increased by 0.1 percentage point (p.p.) or less from the previous quarter, remaining broadly stable (Figure 1). Compared with the same quarter in 2025, both rates were also broadly unchanged. Employment and labour force participation rates were, respectively, at or near record highs in 9 and 13 OECD countries (Figure 3, Tables 1 and 2). Meanwhile, the OECD unemployment rate was broadly stable in August 2026, at 5.0%, just 0.2 p.p. above its record low from June 2023 (Figure 1, 5 and Table 3).
Employment rates across OECD countries ranged from 54.8% in Q2 2026 in Türkiye to above 80% in Iceland, Japan and the Netherlands. The largest year-on-year increases were recorded in Colombia and Portugal, at 1.5 and 1.3 p.p. respectively, reflecting higher labour force participation combined with lower unemployment. Conversely, employment rates fell most in Iceland and Finland, by 3.3 and 1.1 p.p. respectively, mainly reflecting higher unemployment. Smaller declines observed in Israel and Luxembourg were mainly driven by lower labour force participation (Figure 3).
Across population groups, women’s employment and labour force participation rates each rose by 0.2 p.p. in Q2 2026, while rates for men remained broadly stable. By age group, the OECD employment and labour force participation rates rose by 0.4 and 0.2 p.p. among older workers aged 55-64 years old, while remaining broadly stable for prime-age workers aged 25-54 and young people aged 15-24 (Figure 2).
In August 2026, unemployment rates in 20 OECD countries as well as in the European Union (6.1%) and the euro area (6.4%) remained largely unchanged compared with July. Unemployment rates increased in seven countries, most notably in Colombia, while decreases were observed in Denmark, Finland, Greece, Israel and Türkiye. The OECD unemployment rate among younger workers aged 15-24 rose to 11.3% from 11.0% in July, widening the gap between younger workers and workers aged 25 and over (Figure 5 and Table 6). More timely estimates for September 2026 show that unemployment rates remained broadly stable in Canada and the United States at 6.5% and 4.2%, respectively.
Figure 1 – Labour market situation in the OECD area
Employment, labour force and inactive population, Q2 2026, and unemployment, August 2026, seasonally adjusted
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