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Unemployment

Answer

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply. Letter from Karen Dunnell, National Statistician, to Lord Kilclooney, dated April 2009. As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what are the percentage unemployment rates in (a) the United States, (b) Germany, (c) France, (d) Spain, (e) the Republic of Ireland, (t) the European Union as a whole, and (g) the United Kingdom. [HL3018] Comparable unemployment rates for EU member states are estimated and published by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, using data derived from the Labour Force Survey in each country. The Eurostat definition of unemployed persons covers those aged 15 to 74. Estimates for 15 year-olds are not available for Spain, therefore the figures published are for people aged 16 to 74 instead. The unemployment rate for the United Kingdom and the United States is based on those aged 16 and over. The latest estimates for each country are provided in the table. This information is updated monthly as part of the Labour Market Statistics First Release and can be found on the National Statistics website at the following address: www.statistics.gov.uk/OnlineProducts/LMS_FR_HS.asp.

Unemployment rates², by country. Seasonally adjusted
		Per cent
Country	Latest period	Unemployment rate²
United States	Mar 09	9
Germany	Feb 09	7
France	Feb 09	9
Spain	Feb 09	16
Ireland	Feb 09	10
European Union³	Feb 09	8
United Kingdom	Dec-Feb 09	7

"Source: Eurostat, ONS, US Bureau of Labor Statistics""¹ The unemployment rate for the EU and EU member states is based on those aged 15 to 74 except for Spain (16 to 74). The unemployment rate for the UK and US is based on those aged 16 and over.""² The unemployment rate is the number of people unemployed as a percentage of the total number of people employed and unemployed.""³ Consists of all 27 EU countries." "¹ The unemployment rate for the EU and EU member states is based on those aged 15 to 74 except for Spain (16 to 74). The unemployment rate for the UK and US is based on those aged 16 and over.""² The unemployment rate is the number of people unemployed as a percentage of the total number of people employed and unemployed.""³ Consists of all 27 EU countries." "² The unemployment rate is the number of people unemployed as a percentage of the total number of people employed and unemployed.""³ Consists of all 27 EU countries." "³ Consists of all 27 EU countries."

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

3018; 710 c112-3WA

Session

2008-09

Subjects

European Union Germany France Republic of Ireland Unemployment USA Spain

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk