Unemployment Around the World (10/7/09)

How the U.S. unemployment rate compares to other countries' numbers.

Unemployment figures are decidedly bleak in the United States. An article on BloggingStocks takes a global look at unemployment and gives some surprising numbers.

According to the article, in the 30 countries that make up the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), unemployment is as low as 3.2% in the Netherlands and as high as 17.6% in Spain, as of July 2009.

Developing economies have been hit hard as well, although firm numbers are difficult to come by, as unemployment means different things in different areas and some migrant workers aren’t included in the statistics.

One wonders what the Netherlands and other countries are doing right to have such low numbers. What can we do here in the United States to help the economy? Leave your thoughts with a comment.

Teresa McPherson was the former Editor of Adhesives & Sealants Industry. She has held several editorial positions during her more than 20 years with BNP Media. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English and journalism from Eastern Michigan University.