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International Labor Comparisons
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Last Updated: August 1, 2013
International Unemployment Rates and Employment Indexes, Seasonally Adjusted, 2009-2013
On This Page:
- Highlights
- CHART 1. Unemployment rates adjusted to U.S. concepts, 10 countries, seasonally adjusted, February 2012–May 2013
- CHART 2. Unemployment rates unadjusted by BLS, 10 European Union countries or areas, seasonally adjusted, February 2012–May 2013
- TABLE 1. Unemployment rates adjusted to U.S. concepts, 10 countries, seasonally adjusted
- TABLE 2. Unemployment rates unadjusted by BLS, 10 European Union countries or areas, seasonally adjusted
- TABLE 3. Employment indexes adjusted to U.S. concepts, 10 countries, seasonally adjusted
- Technical notes
Elimination of ILC
- BLS has eliminated the International Labor Comparisons (ILC) program. This is the last BLS release of international unemployment rates and employment indexes.
- The BLS is aware of other organizations that have obtained the methodology and intend to produce ILC indicators similar to those done previously by BLS. Please see the announcement at www.bls.gov/ilc
-
Highlights
- Of the countries covered by the BLS unemployment comparisons program, the unemployment rate in June 2013 decreased for Germany, Italy, and Japan, remained the same in the United States, and increased for Australia, Canada, France, the Netherlands, and Sweden. See Chart 1 and Table 1.
- The highest unemployment rates for June 2013 were in Italy (12.2 percent) and France (10.7 percent), while the lowest rate for that month was in Japan (3.4 percent).
- Of the EU countries not covered in the BLS comparisons but tracked by BLS, the unemployment rate in June 2013 decreased in all countries except Belgium. See Chart 2 and Table 2.
- Employment in June 2013 remained level in Canada, Germany, and Japan, rose in the United States, Australia, and Sweden, and declined in Italy and the Netherlands. See Table 3.
NOTE: Latest available monthly data are shown for each country. See Table 1.
NOTE: Latest available monthly data are shown for each country. See Table 2.
| 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | Q2 2012 | Q4 2012 | Q1 2013 | Q2 2013 | Jun. 2012 | Apr. 2013 | May 2013 | Jun. 2013 | Change from May 2013-Jun. 2013 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
United States |
9.3 | 9.6 | 8.9 | 8.1 | 8.2 | 7.8 | 7.7 | 7.5 | 8.2 | 7.5 | 7.6 | 7.6 | 0.0 |
|
Australia |
5.6 | 5.2 | 5.1 | 5.2 | 5.1 | 5.4 | 5.5 | 5.6 | r 5.2 | 5.6 | r 5.6 | 5.7 | 0.1 |
|
Canada |
7.3 | 7.1 | 6.5 | 6.3 | 6.4 | 6.3 | 6.2 | 6.1 | 6.3 | 6.2 | 6.1 | 6.2 | 0.1 |
|
France |
9.2 | 9.4 | 9.3 | 10.0 | 9.9 | 10.3 | r 10.5 | 10.6 | 9.9 | r 10.5 | r 10.6 | 10.7 | 0.1 |
|
Germany (1) |
7.8 | 7.1 | 5.9 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.6 | 5.5 | -0.1 |
|
Italy |
7.9 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 10.8 | 10.7 | 11.4 | 12.0 | 12.2 | 10.9 | 12.1 | 12.3 | 12.2 | -0.1 |
|
Japan (2) |
4.8 | 4.7 | 4.2 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.4 | -0.2 |
|
Netherlands |
3.7 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 5.3 | 5.2 | 5.7 | 6.2 | 6.7 | 5.2 | 6.5 | 6.7 | 6.9 | 0.2 |
|
Sweden |
8.3 | 8.5 | 7.7 | 7.9 | r 7.8 | 8.1 | 8.1 | 8.0 | r 7.7 | 8.2 | 7.8 | 8.0 | 0.2 |
|
United Kingdom |
7.6 | 7.9 | 8.1 | 8.0 | 8.1 | 7.8 | 7.9 | 8.1 | 7.8 | ||||
|
Note: See Technical notes for information on sources and methods. Longer time series are provided in the Excel version at www.bls.gov/ilc/intl_unemployment_rates_monthly.xls. |
|||||||||||||
| 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | Q2 2012 | Q4 2012 | Q1 2013 | Q2 2013 | Jun. 2012 | Apr. 2013 | May 2013 | Jun. 2013 | Change from May 2013-Jun. 2013 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
EU-27 (1) |
9.0 | 9.7 | 9.7 | 10.5 | 10.4 | 10.7 | 10.9 | 11.0 | 10.5 | r 11.0 | r 11.0 | 10.9 | -0.1 |
|
Euro area (1) |
9.6 | 10.1 | 10.2 | 11.4 | 11.3 | 11.8 | 12.0 | 12.1 | 11.4 | r 12.1 | 12.1 | 12.1 | 0.0 |
|
Austria |
4.8 | 4.4 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4.6 | 4.9 | 4.5 | 4.8 | 4.7 | 4.6 | -0.1 | |
|
Belgium |
7.9 | 8.3 | 7.2 | 7.6 | 7.6 | 8.0 | 8.3 | 8.6 | 7.7 | r 8.6 | 8.6 | 8.7 | 0.1 |
|
Denmark |
6.0 | 7.5 | 7.6 | 7.5 | 7.9 | 7.3 | 7.1 | 7.9 | 7.0 | 6.8 | |||
|
Finland |
8.2 | 8.4 | 7.8 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 7.9 | r 8.1 | 8.1 | 7.7 | r 8.1 | r 8.1 | 8.0 | -0.1 |
|
Greece |
9.5 | 12.6 | 17.7 | 24.3 | 23.9 | 26.1 | 26.6 | 24.7 | 26.9 | ||||
|
Ireland |
12.0 | 13.9 | 14.7 | 14.7 | 14.9 | 14.2 | 13.7 | 13.5 | 14.9 | 13.5 | 13.6 | 13.5 | -0.1 |
|
Portugal |
10.6 | 12.0 | 12.9 | 15.9 | 15.6 | 17.0 | 17.6 | 17.6 | 15.8 | 17.8 | 17.6 | 17.4 | -0.2 |
|
Spain |
18.0 | 20.1 | 21.7 | 25.0 | 24.7 | 26.1 | r 26.4 | 26.4 | r 25.1 | r 26.5 | r 26.4 | 26.3 | -0.1 |
|
Note: These data are prepared by the Statistical Office of the European Communities (EUROSTAT). See Technical notes for information on sources and methods. Longer time series are provided in the Excel version at www.bls.gov/ilc/intl_unemployment_rates_monthly.xls. |
|||||||||||||
| Q1 2007 = 100 | January 2007 = 100 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q2 2012 | Q4 2012 | Q1 2013 | Q2 2013 | Jun. 2012 | Apr. 2013 | May 2013 | Jun. 2013 | Change from May 2013-Jun. 2013 | |
|
United States |
97.3 | 98.1 | 98.1 | 98.4 | 97.5 | 98.3 | 98.5 | 98.7 | 0.2 |
|
Australia |
110.2 | 110.6 | 111.3 | 111.6 | 110.5 | 111.9 | 111.9 | 112.0 | 0.1 |
|
Canada |
105.1 | 105.9 | 106.2 | 106.5 | 105.4 | 106.4 | 106.9 | 106.9 | 0.0 |
|
France |
101.0 | 102.0 | 101.8 | 101.7 | (1) | (1) | (1) | (1) | |
|
Germany |
106.0 | 106.3 | 106.5 | 106.6 | 106.2 | 106.7 | 106.8 | 106.8 | 0.0 |
|
Italy |
99.5 | 98.8 | 97.9 | 97.6 | 99.4 | 97.7 | 97.7 | 97.6 | -0.1 |
|
Japan (2) |
97.8 | 98.0 | 98.3 | 98.4 | 98.3 | 98.7 | 98.8 | 98.8 | 0.0 |
|
Netherlands |
103.0 | 103.3 | 102.8 | 102.4 | 103.4 | 102.9 | 102.7 | 102.6 | -0.1 |
|
Sweden |
103.3 | 103.6 | 103.8 | 104.1 | 103.5 | 103.7 | 103.8 | 103.9 | 0.1 |
|
United Kingdom |
101.4 | 102.3 | 102.3 | 101.8 | 102.3 | ||||
|
Note: See Technical notes for information on sources and methods. Longer time series are provided in the Excel version at www.bls.gov/ilc/intl_unemployment_rates_monthly.xls. |
|||||||||
Technical notes
Data adjusted to U.S. concepts
Data in tables 1 and 3 are on a civilian labor force basis and are from household surveys unless otherwise noted. Although the U.S. lower age limit is 16 years, the age limit for other countries varies from 15 to 16 years. No adjustment is made for the treatment of layoffs. For some countries, no adjustment is made for the treatment of unpaid family workers, persons waiting to start a new job, and passive job seekers (for example, persons only reading newspaper ads as their method of job search). In the United States, job search must be "active," such as placing or answering advertisements, and simply reading ads is not enough to qualify as active search. These unadjusted differences have a negligible effect on the comparisons. For further information on comparability issues, see Constance Sorrentino, "International unemployment rates: how comparable are they?" Monthly Labor Review, June 2000, pp. 3-20, at www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2000/06/art1full.pdf.
Employment indexes are calculated using employment levels underlying the unemployment rates and therefore are also from household surveys. Household surveys provide greater comparability of labor market trends across countries than establishment surveys, although both types of surveys are used to measure employment. In the United States, the establishment survey provides a highly reliable gauge of monthly change in nonfarm payroll employment while the household survey provides a broader picture of employment including agriculture and the self-employed. For details on the differences between the two U.S. surveys, see www.bls.gov/web/ces_cps_trends.htm. Note that trends shown in table 3 are for the number of persons in employment and not the number of jobs.
For further qualifications on data adjusted to U.S. concepts and historical annual figures, see "International Comparisons of Annual Labor Force Statistics, Adjusted to U.S. Concepts, 16 countries" at www.bls.gov/ilc/flscomparelf.htm.
Unemployment rates unadjusted by BLS
Data in table 2 are not adjusted by BLS to reflect U.S. concepts. They exclude conscripts but include career military living in private households. These data are prepared by the Statistical Office of the European Communities (EUROSTAT) according to the International Labor Office (ILO) definitions and are called harmonized unemployment rates. For details on methods and concepts, see "European Union labor force survey, methods and concepts, 2001," at http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_OFFPUB/KS-BF-03-002/EN/KS-BF-03-002-EN.PDF. Data are reproduced with permission from EUROSTAT.
The European Union-27 (EU-27) refers to EU member countries as of January 1, 2007. The EU-27 rate is the population-weighted average for the following 27 countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
The Euro area refers to EU member countries that adopted the euro as a common currency. The composition of the euro area changes over time. As the euro area expands, data for new member countries are linked into this moving coverage series. Thus, the euro area rate changes its geographical coverage according to the composition of the euro area during the period to which the data refer. For January 2011 onward, the euro area rate is the population-weighted average for the following 17 countries: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain.
Last Modified Date: August 15, 2013