Employment in the developed economies increased modestly in the fourth quarter, data released by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) showed Tuesday.
The average employment rate across the 37 OECD-member states, which is the share of employed persons among people of working-age, edged up to 65.1 percent in the fourth quarter from 65 percent in the three months ended September 2012.
In the fourth quarter of 2011, the overall employment rate was 64.9 percent. The latest figure was, however, 1.4 percentage points below the pre-crisis levels recorded in 2008.
The employment rate among youth, aged between 15 and 24, was 39.2 percent during the three-month period, down slightly from 39.3 percent seen in the third quarter.
There are significant divergences in the evolution of the employment rate across the OECD member countries, the agency said. The employment rate rose by 0.2 percentage points sequentially to 67.3 percent in the United States, by 0.3 percentage points to 72.5 percent in Canada and by 0.2 percentage points to 70.9 percent in Japan.
In contrast, the employment rate for the Eurozone decreased by 0.2 percentage points to 63.6 percent at the end of the October-December period. The largest falls in the employment rate in the currency bloc were recorded in Estonia, Portugal, the Slovak republic and Spain, data showed.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.