Annual average (a) (b)

2009 (a)

Country

2005

2006

2007

2008

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Australia

5.1

4.8

4.4

4.2

5.8

5.7

Canada

6.8

6.3

6.0

6.2

8.6

8.7

France

9.3

8.3

7.9

9.5

9.7

9.9

Germany

10.6

9.8

8.4

7.3

7.7

Italy

7.7

6.8

6.1

6.8

7.4

Japan

4.4

4.1

3.9

4.0

5.4

5.7

5.5

New Zealand (c)

3.8

3.6

4.2

6.0

United Kingdom

4.8

5.4

5.3

5.6

7.8

United States

5.1

4.6

5.8

9.5

9.4

9.7

OECD average

6.8

6.2

5.7

6.0

8.5

8.6

G7 average

6.2

5.8

5.4

5.9

8.2

8.3

Euro-zone average

8.8

7.9

7.3

8.2

9.4

9.5

9.6

(a) Unemployment as a percentage of labour force.

(b) Years shown are calendar years.

Note: Unemployment rates shown above have been adjusted as necessary by the OECD

to conform to international definitions and to ensure consistency over time.

Sources: Datastream

ABS, Labour force, Cat. no. 6202.0

Update

Late November 2009