Unemployment sticks below 5% in March: OECD

The jobless rate remained stable in March, according to new data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The Paris-based group reported that the overall unemployment rate was flat at 4.9% in March, as the rate rose in eight countries, declined in two, and came in unchanged in most OECD countries (22).

The OECD unemployment rate has been at, or below, 5% for the last two years, it noted, and was below that mark in 15 countries in March, including the U.S., Germany and Japan.

“In the European Union and the euro area, the unemployment rate remained at record lows of 6% and 6.5%, respectively, in March,” the OECD said, with the rate staying stable in most countries in the region.

Outside Europe, unemployment rates were stable or increased, it said.

“The largest increases were recorded in Canada and Colombia,” it said. More recent data for Canada and the U.S. indicated that unemployment was broadly stable again in April, with the countries’ jobless rates at 6.1% and 3.9%, respectively.

While the overall jobless rate held steady in March, the OECD noted that the rate increased to 5.3% for women — 0.7 percentage point higher than the rate for men.

Additionally, an increase in the number of unemployed women in the month drove a rise in the overall number of unemployed workers in the OECD to 34.2 million, up from 33.9 million in February.

James Langton

James is a senior reporter for Advisor.ca and its sister publication, Investment Executive. He has been reporting on regulation, securities law, industry news and more since 1994.