Unemployment Rates Around The World

Virtually all of the world’s advanced economies have suffered some effects from the recession. Though unemployment is a problem all over the world, some countries have suffered a worse rate of unemployment than others. People who are under 16, are in the armed forces and people who are currently incarcerated are not considered unemployed because they are not considerate to be a part of the work force. In addition, people who don’t have jobs but who have not been looking for work within the last four weeks are not considered to be unemployed.

Canada and the United States have both experienced massive job losses during the recession. The United States now has an unemployment rate of 9.5 percent and Canada has an unemployment rate of 8.4 percent.

Europe has also been hard hit by the recession, with some countries faring better than others in terms of unemployment. In Austria, there is 4.5 percent unemployment. In Belgium, there is 7.4 percent unemployment. The unemployment rate of Cyprus is 3.8 percent. The Czech Republic has an unemployment rate of 7.9 percent. Denmark has a 2.9 percent unemployment rate. Finland has an 8.8 percent unemployment rate.

France has an 8.8 percent unemployment rate. Germany’s unemployment rate is 8.3 percent. Greece has a 9.1 percent unemployment rate. Iceland also has a 9.1 percent unemployment rate. Ireland has a high European employment rate with 11.8 percent. In Italy, the unemployment rate is 7.4 percent.

In Luxembourg, the unemployment rate is 6.1 percent. Unemployment in Malta is 6.4 percent. The Netherlands has a 4.4 unemployment rate. In Norway, the unemployment rate is 3.1 percent. Portugal’s unemployment rate is 8.9 percent. Unemployment in San Marino is 2.8 percent. Unemployment in Slovakia is 10.9 percent. In Slovenia, the unemployment rate is 8.8 percent. Spain has an extraordinarily high unemployment rate at 18.7 percent. Sweden has an unemployment rate of 8.9 percent. Switzerland maintains a low rate of unemployment at 3.5 percent. Israel has an unemployment rate of 7.6 percent.

Much of Asia has maintained a low unemployment rate despite the recession. Hong Kong’s rate of unemployment is 5.3 percent. In Japan, the unemployment rate is 5.2 percent. In Singapore, the unemployment rate is a low 3.2 percent. South Korea has an unemployment rate of 3.9 percent. The unemployment rate in Taiwan is 5.7 percent. The Australian unemployment rate is 5.7 percent. New Zealand has an unemployment rate of 5 percent.