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Who is counted as unemployed?
A small headline rate can conceal a complicated labor market.
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THE STORY BEHIND THE CHART
The story behind the numbers
The unemployment rate counts people in the labor force who are without work and seeking it under the source definition. It excludes people outside the labor force and does not measure job quality. Read it alongside participation and informal employment before comparing economic wellbeing.
THE TAKEAWAY
A small headline rate can conceal a complicated labor market.
Read the numbers carefully
Percent of the labor force. Low unemployment alone does not establish high job quality.
Data behind the visual
This selected comparison includes 32 economies with observations in 2025 shown in % of labor force.
| Country | Value |
|---|---|
| South Africa | 32.4% |
| Sweden | 8.7% |
| Türkiye | 8.5% |
| France | 7.5% |
| Argentina | 7.1% |
| Canada | 6.9% |
| Egypt | 6.8% |
| Italy | 6.4% |
| Brazil | 6% |
| Kenya | 5.4% |
| Pakistan | 5.4% |
| United Kingdom | 4.7% |
| Norway | 4.6% |
| China | 4.6% |
| India | 4.2% |
| United States | 4.2% |
| Australia | 4.1% |
| Netherlands | 3.9% |
| Bangladesh | 3.8% |
| Germany | 3.7% |
| Ethiopia | 3.3% |
| Indonesia | 3.2% |
| Nigeria | 3.1% |
| Saudi Arabia | 3% |
| Poland | 3% |
| South Korea | 2.7% |
| Mexico | 2.7% |
| Japan | 2.5% |
| Philippines | 2.2% |
| United Arab Emirates | 2.2% |
| Vietnam | 1.5% |
| Thailand | 0.8% |
EXPLORE THE DATA
Compare any two countries.
Choose two places to inspect this indicator side-by-side. Same source, same year.
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