OECD unemployment rate stable at 6.9% in December

By Aysu Bicer

ANKARA (AA) - The unemployment rate in member states of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) was stable at 6.9% in December, the body announced Wednesday.

The figure remains 1.7 percentage points higher than that in February 2020, before the pandemic hit the labor market, the global body noted.

In December, the unemployment rate also remained stable at 8.3% in the euro area.

The OECD area unemployment rate for youth -- people aged 15 to 24 -- rose to 14.4% from 14.2% in November.

In the euro area, the youth unemployment rate increased to 18.5% in December versus 18.1% in November, the second consecutive monthly increase.

In the US, the unemployment rate was also stable at 6.7% in December, 3.2 percentage points higher than in February 2020.

Canada's unemployment rate in November rose by 0.2 percentage point to 8.8%.

In Japan, the joblessness rate stands at 2.9%, up 0.7 percentage point above its pre-pandemic level.​​​​​​​