The OECD unemployment rate remained broadly stable at 4.9% in March 2025, having been at or below 5.0% since April 2022. Compared with February 2025, March unemployment rates were unchanged in 23 OECD countries, rose in 5, and declined in 4. Five OECD countries recorded a monthly unemployment rate close to their record lows, including Türkiye which recorded its lowest rate (7.9%) since January 2005. By contrast, the unemployment rate was 2.0 percentage points [p.p.] or more above its record low in eight OECD countries with the largest gaps recorded in Estonia, Luxembourg, Denmark, and Finland. The number of unemployed persons in the OECD increased slightly to 34.2 million in March.
In March 2025, OECD unemployment rates for women and men remained broadly stable, at 5.1% and 4.7%, respectively. The unemployment rate for women exceeded that of men in the European Union, the euro area, and 20 OECD countries in March 2025 (or in the latest period available), with the largest gender gaps in Türkiye, Greece, and Colombia. The unemployment rate for men exceeded that of women in 17 OECD countries, including all G7 countries except Italy.
