Week 15, 2013: International Unemployment Comparison

Summary: In the second of our two part unemployment series, we've updated a chart from 2011. Since then, only the position of the USA has really improved; data released this week shows their unemployment rate is at the lowest point since the end of 2008.

What does the chart show? The chart shows the seasonally adjusted monthly unemployment rate for the UK (blue), the US (red) and the Euro Area (green). The unemployment rate is defined as the percentage of people who are unemployed (aged 16 or over, are not in work and are looking for work) out of the total labour force (the total number of people who are employed plus the number who are unemployed). The Euro Area measured here is the group of countries using the Euro at the time; so the number of countries included grows over the period.

Why is the chart interesting? Since July 2011, when we last produced this graph, the unemployment rate in the USA has improved massively, especially compared to the performance of the UK and the Euro Area.  Here in the UK, after a brief bump in unemployment rates during the second half of 2011 and the beginning of 2012, we've returned to the level we've been at since the aftermath of the financial crisis.  It hasn't got worse (although youth unemployment is an issue), but neither has it improved.  In contrast, the unemployment rate in the US has been falling fairly steadily since 2010, and has overtaken the UK for the first time since April 2008 (although while the latest data for the US is for March, the latest for the UK is for January, so perhaps it isn't a fair comparison).  Meanwhile, unemployment in the Euro Area has exploded, increasing from 10% to 12% over the past 2 years.