The leading source of labour statistics

  • Data, Snapshot

Unemployment rate

This snapshot presents global and regional trends along with the most recent country-level figures, based on the latest statistical standards and definitions adopted at the 19th International Conference of Labour Statisticians (ICLS) (ILO, 2013), as well as the previous standards from the 13th ICLS (ILO, 1982). In some cases, such as for high-income countries, these statistics may be identical. For more details, refer to the relevant databases and their descriptions.

Quick definition: The unemployment rate is the share of persons who are unemployed as a percent of the labour force. The unemployed comprise all persons of working age who were: a) without work during the reference period, i.e. were not in paid employment or self-employment; b) currently available for work, i.e. were available for paid employment or self-employment during the reference period; and c) seeking work, i.e. had taken specific steps in a specified recent period to seek paid employment or self-employment. The labour force is the sum of all persons of working age who are employed and those who are unemployed.

Indicator catalogue

Browse by:
(Select up to 3)
Skip to content