OECD unemployment rate slips to 7.7% in July

Sep 09, 2020: The unemployment rate in Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries dropped to 7.7% in July, the OECD said on Wednesday.

The figure fell from 8.0% in June, but was still 2.5 percentage points above the rate in February, before the coronavirus pandemic hit labor markets.

The unemployment rate in the euro area rose for the fourth consecutive month, to 7.9% in July, from 7.7% in the previous month.

In Japan, the jobless rate rose slightly to 2.9% from 2.8% in June, and is now 0.5 percentage point higher than in February.

Despite dropping on a monthly basis in July due to continued declines in the number of people on temporary layoff, unemployment rates in Canada and the US remained higher than pre-pandemic levels.

The figures in Canada and the US fell by 1.4 and 0.9 percentage points respectively, to 10.9% and 10.2%.

AA/APP