OECD unemployment holds at 5 percent as youth rate reaches 11.5
The September figures show why the overall rate tells only part of the story.
Unemployment across the OECD held at 5 percent in September, with 35.2 million people out of work, according to the organization's November update. The rate for young people reached 11.5 percent.
Unemployment remained broadly steady in nearly two-thirds of countries with available data. Rates were at or below 3 percent in countries including Czechia, Japan and Mexico, while they exceeded 10 percent in Finland and Spain.
The OECD uses comparable measures to compile the figures across countries. The aggregate can stay still even when conditions change sharply in individual labour markets. In September, Finland recorded the largest increase and Colombia the largest decline.