In January this year, the unemployment rate of the 34 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member countries fell by 0.1 percentage point to 6.1 percent, after two consecutive months of stability, according to new figures published by the OECD. The number of unemployed in the OECD region in January was 38.3 million people, 5.7 million more than in April 2008, before the global crisis started affecting the labor market.
In January, on month-on-month basis, the unemployment rate for the euro area was stable at 9.6 percent. In the given month, the unemployment rate declined by 0.1 percentage point in the European Union to 8.1 percent, increased by 0.1 percentage point in the United States to 4.8 percent and fell by 0.1 percentage point in Canada to 6.8 percent, in Japan to 3.0 percent and in Mexico to 3.6 percent, all compared to December.