OECD employment & labour force participation rates peak in Q3 2023

These record highs were observed in 9 of the 38 OECD countries, including France, Italy, and Japan. Notably, both the employment and participation rates have achieved all-time highs for both women and men across the OECD.

Nearly two-thirds of OECD countries have surpassed the 70 per cent mark in employment rates. However, the third quarter of 2023 saw a decline in employment rates in 20 OECD countries, a slight increase from 17 countries in the previous quarter. The most significant drops were reported in Costa Rica, Iceland, and Finland. Turkiye continues to have the lowest employment rate among OECD countries at 53.9 per cent, OECD said in labour market situation update.

In terms of unemployment, the OECD reported a steady rate of 4.8 per cent in November 2023, marking the ninth consecutive month at this record low. The European Union and the euro area also maintained their record low unemployment rates at 5.9 per cent and 6.4 per cent, respectively. Data from 20 OECD countries show an unchanged unemployment rate for November, while 7 countries experienced decreases and 6 reported increases.

Looking at North America, both Canada and the US reported stable unemployment rates in December 2023, with Canada at 5.8 per cent and the US at 3.7 per cent.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DP)