OECD Area Unemployment Slightly Down In March

The unemployment rate in the member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) inched down to 6.5% in March, the global body said on Monday.

The rate remains 1.2 percentage points above the pre-pandemic level, according to an OECD statement. It was 6.6% in February.

The OECD youth unemployment rate – people aged 15 to 24 – diminished to 13.3% in March from 13.6% compared to previous month, still 2 percentage points above its pre-pandemic level.

In March, the unemployment rate also declined marginally in the euro area to 8.1% from 8.2% in February.

Canada recorded one of the largest declines in March, down by 0.5 percentage point to 7.5%, while the figures for Japan, Mexico and the US were at 2.6%, 4.3% and 6%, respectively.

By contrast, the unemployment rate increased to 5.4% in Israel, up 0.3 percentage point. -