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Unemployment international comparisons: Economic indicators

Economic indicators are quick-read summaries of the latest data focusing on different aspects of the UK economy. The full suite of indicators can be found on the main Economic Indicators page.

The OECD produces harmonised unemployment rates for OECD members based on the ILO definition of unemployment.

The UK harmonised unemployment rate for Q1 2026 was 5.0%. This was above Germany (3.8%) and the US (4.3%), but below France (8.1%). The Eurozone’s rate was 6.3%, while in the G7 it was 4.5%.

Q4 2025 data was not published for the US due to the federal government shutdown, and due to this missing data, figures are also not available for the G7 or the OECD for this quarter.

Finland had the highest unemployment rate out of the OECD member states in Q1 2026 at 10.4%, followed by Spain at 10.3%. Japan and Mexico had the lowest at 2.7%.

Youth (aged 15 to 24) unemployment is a major issue in many developed economies at present. In Q1 2026 the youth unemployment rate was 24.2% in Spain, and it was also 20% or higher in seven other countries. It was 16.2% in the UK.

Next updates

This page is updated when new data is published. The next source updates will be:

• OECD, Harmonised Unemployment Rates, 10 September 2026