Employment and labour force participation rates reached record highs in the second quarter of this year in the 38 countries tracked by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, according to data released on 12 October.

The employment rate in the OECD rose to 70.1% in the second quarter, the highest level since 2005. Meanwhile, the OECD labour force participation rate rose to 73.7%, the highest since 2008.

Record highs in both the employment rate and labour force participation rate were reported in 19 countries including France, Germany, Italy and Japan.

The OECD employment rate increased to record highs for both women and men at 63.2% and 77.0%, respectively.

Looking at unemployment rates, the OECD notes the unemployment rate in the 38-country area remained at a record low of 4.8%. However, the OECD youth unemployment rate (workers aged 15 to 24) increased by 0.5 of a percentage point compared to its lowest rate recorded in April 2023, mainly driven by a rise in the youth unemployment rate for men.

Countries with the lowest unemployment rates in August were Korea, 2.4%; the Czech Republic, 2.5%; and Japan, 2.7%.

The highest unemployment rates in August were in Spain, 11.5%; Greece, 10.9%; and Colombia, 9.5%.

The OECD data did not include unemployment rates in August for Chile, Costa Rica, Iceland, New Zealand, Switzerland or the UK.

The 38 countries tracked in the OECD report include Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the UK and the US.