OECD jobless rate steady at 4.9% in March

By Mucahithan Avicoglu

ISTANBUL (AA) – The unemployment rate across the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) area remained unchanged at 4.9% in March, the organization said Thursday.

The figure has stayed at or below 5% since April 2022, reflecting broad labor market stability across member states.

Unemployment rates for women and men were also stable in March, at 5.1% and 4.7%, respectively.

Compared to February, jobless rates held steady in 23 OECD countries, declined in four, and rose in five.

Türkiye saw its lowest unemployment rate since January 2005, at 7.9%, joining four other OECD countries where the jobless rate was near historic lows.

“By contrast, the unemployment rate was 2.0 percentage points or more above its record low in eight OECD countries,” the OECD said, citing the largest gaps in Estonia, Luxembourg, Denmark, and Finland.

In the European Union and the euro area, unemployment remained unchanged for the sixth consecutive month, holding at record lows of 5.8% and 6.2%, respectively.

“In OECD countries outside the euro area, unemployment rates were largely stable or declined in March 2025,” the report added.