The unemployment rate is a macroeconomic indicator measured by an analysis of the labor force which includes those employed and those that are not in employment but seeking jobs. The unemployment rate could be calculated on a monthly basis by getting the difference between those who have jobs and the unemployed.
In the year 2008, the unemployment rate in the UK ranged between 3.8 to about 4.5%. In the same year, Japan saw the rise of a steady rate of unemployment from 4% to 4.5%. Canada, on the other hand, saw an increase in this rate from 5.9-7%. Finally, the US rate of unemployment rose from 5% in January to 7% in December.
In the wake of 2009, the UK rate shot up to 5.6% before dipping to 5% at the end of the year. In Japan, the rate increased again to 5.6% in July up from about 4.4% in January. In Canada, there was a rise in the rate as it peaked at 8.5% in July. The USA rate shot further up to 9% in July and 10% at the end of the year. The rate further rose to 5.2% in July 2010 before slightly dipping to 5% at the end of the year. In Japan, the rate declined to about 5.2% in July from the same month in the previous year. In Canada, the rate declined to slightly less than 8% in July and slightly above 7.55% at the end of the year. In the USA, the rate settled at slightly below 10%.
2011 statistics indicate that the rate in Japan rate had dropped to 4.1% as in September. Canada also dropped to 7.3% in October. In the US, the rate was 9% in October. UK’s rate for April was 7.7% down 0.3 percent of the economically active population from the previous month. This is the largest quarterly fall in unemployment since the three months to August 2000.
Overall, Japan has the highest level of unemployment with the rate oscillating between 4% and 5.6% at the peak, while the worst unemployment rate peaked at 10% in 2010 in the USA and settled to an average of about 9% by 2011.