The unemployment rate for the OECD area was 8.8% in December 2009, unchanged from the previous month but up by 1.8 percentage points from a year earlier.

Figures available for January 2010 for the United States and Canada show a fall in unemployment rates in these countries. In the United States, the unemployment rate declined to 9.7% from a rate of 10.0% in December 2009 but it was still 2.0 percentage points higher than a year earlier. In Canada, the unemployment rate was 8.3% in January, 0.1 percentage point lower than in the previous month and 1.0 percentage point higher than a year earlier.

In the Euro area, the unemployment rate rose to 10.0% in December 2009, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the previous month. The rate was 1.8 percentage points higher than in December 2008. In Japan, the unemployment rate declined to 5.1% in December 2009, a 0.1 percentage point fall from November, but a 0.8 percentage point increase since December 2008.

In December 2009, the unemployment rate for France was 10.0%, unchanged from the previous month and 1.5 percentage points higher than a year earlier. For Germany, the rate was also unchanged from the previous month at 7.5% but 0.4 percentage point higher than in December 2008. In Italy, the unemployment rate rose to 8.5%, 0.2 percentage points higher than in the previous month and 1.5 percentage points higher than a year earlier.

In October 2009, the unemployment rate in the United Kingdom was 7.8%, the same as in the previous month and 1.6 percentage points higher than in October 2008.