OECD region sees 45.5 mn jobless people in September

LONDON: As many as 45.5 million people were unemployed in September in the OECD region, a grouping of mostly developed nations.

The latest data from the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) showed that jobless rate stood at 8.5 per cent in September, unchanged from the previous month.

OECD countries account for over 60 per cent of the global economic output.

"There were 45.5 million unemployed persons in OECD countries in September 2010, down 0.6 million from September 2009 but 15.4 million higher than in September 2007," the grouping said today.

Even though, the number of jobless people has come down, the unemployment levels remains close to "post-war highs" in the OECD region.

Despite massive stimulus measures, the labour markets in many developed economies continue to remain shaky.

In September, the highest jobless rate was recorded in Spain at 20.8 per cent.

During the same period, the Slovak Republic and Ireland saw high unemployment rates of 14.7 per cent and Ireland 14.1 per cent, respectively.

"Unemployment rates in Korea (3.7 per cent), the Netherlands (4.4 per cent) and Austria (4.5 per cent) remain comparatively low (in September)," OECD noted.

Against the backdrop of sluggish economic recovery, the US registered a jobless rate of 9.6 per cent in October.