OECD unemployment remained at 4.9% in July, with Spain being the only country above 10%.

BarcelonaThe Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) unemployment rate remained at 4.9% in July, in line with June figures, the organization for advanced economies reported Thursday. Thus, unemployment in the OECD has now been at or below 5% for 39 consecutive months. In July, unemployment remained unchanged in 20 OECD countries for which data are available, decreased in 11, and increased in two.

Six countries recorded a rate equal to or below 3% in July, while only Spain recorded a double-digit figure (10.4%), the same as in June. Spain was followed by Finland (9.9%), Sweden (8.9%), and Colombia (8.8%). In contrast, the lowest levels were recorded in Japan (2.3%), South Korea (2.5%), and Mexico (2.6%).

On average, the number of unemployed across the OECD fell by 223,000 in July, to a total of 34.256 million unemployed, of which 10.805 million resided in the eurozone in July. Among those under 25, the OECD unemployment rate fell by two-tenths of a percentage point in July, to 11.2%, while unemployment among those over 25 remained unchanged at 4.1%.

On the other hand, the upward trend in youth unemployment has been consolidated among the Nordic and Baltic countries, which have led this metric for several months and displaced Spain from its historical leadership. Thus, Estonia (27%), Sweden (24.6%), and Finland (23.8%) led the way, followed by Spain, with 23.5%. In contrast, the lowest youth unemployment rates were observed in Japan (4.3%), Mexico (5.4%), and Israel and South Korea (5.9%).