Data · Unemployment rate by country: latest official figures

Unemployment rate by country, May 2026: ranking

In May 2026, Finland had the highest rate among 20 countries (10.8%) and South Korea the lowest (2.9%). 5 countries rose from the previous month and 6 fell. The euro area figure was 6.4%.

Rank	Country	Latest	Period	Change from previous month	Definition	Source
1	Finland	10.8%	2026-05	+0.2pp	Monthly labour force survey, seasonally adjusted	Eurostat (European Commission)
2	Spain	10.2%	2026-05	0pp	Monthly labour force survey, seasonally adjusted	Eurostat (European Commission)
3	Sweden	8.8%	2026-05	+0.3pp	Monthly labour force survey, seasonally adjusted	Eurostat (European Commission)
4	France	8.4%	2026-05	+0.1pp	Monthly labour force survey, seasonally adjusted	Eurostat (European Commission)
5	Denmark	6.9%	2026-05	-0.1pp	Monthly labour force survey, seasonally adjusted	Eurostat (European Commission)
6	Canada	6.6%	2026-05	-0.3pp	Monthly labour force survey, seasonally adjusted	Statistics Canada
7	Belgium	6.3%	2026-05	0pp	Monthly labour force survey, seasonally adjusted	Eurostat (European Commission)
8	Austria	6%	2026-05	+0.1pp	Monthly labour force survey, seasonally adjusted	Eurostat (European Commission)
9	Italy	5.6%	2026-05	-0.1pp	Monthly labour force survey, seasonally adjusted	Eurostat (European Commission)
10	Portugal	5.6%	2026-05	-0.1pp	Monthly labour force survey, seasonally adjusted	Eurostat (European Commission)
11	Switzerland	5.1%	2026-05	0pp	Monthly labour force survey, seasonally adjusted	Eurostat (European Commission)
12	UK	4.9%	2026-05	0pp	Monthly labour force survey, seasonally adjusted	Office for National Statistics (UK)
13	Ireland	4.9%	2026-05	0pp	Monthly labour force survey, seasonally adjusted	Eurostat (European Commission)
14	Norway	4.5%	2026-05	-0.1pp	Monthly labour force survey, seasonally adjusted	Eurostat (European Commission)
15	Australia	4.39%	2026-05	-0.11pp	Monthly labour force survey, seasonally adjusted	Australian Bureau of Statistics
16	U.S.	4.3%	2026-05	0pp	Monthly labour force survey, seasonally adjusted	U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
17	Germany	3.9%	2026-05	0pp	Monthly labour force survey, seasonally adjusted	Eurostat (European Commission)
18	Netherlands	3.9%	2026-05	0pp	Monthly labour force survey, seasonally adjusted	Eurostat (European Commission)
19	Poland	3.4%	2026-05	+0.1pp	Monthly labour force survey, seasonally adjusted	Eurostat (European Commission)
20	South Korea	2.9%	2026-05	0pp	Monthly labour force survey, not seasonally adjusted	Statistics Korea (KOSIS)
Regional average (not ranked)	Euro area	6.4%	2026-05	0pp	Monthly labour force survey, seasonally adjusted	Eurostat (European Commission)

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How to read this

Change is the difference from the previous period of the same series, in percentage points.
Definitions are not identical across countries (see the definition column). The table compares published headline figures; it is not a ranking of living standards.

Monthly rankings

Source

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — license
Source: Office for National Statistics, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 — license
Source: Statistics Canada. Reproduced and distributed on an "as is" basis with the permission of Statistics Canada — license
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics (CC BY 4.0) — license
Source: Statistics Korea (KOSIS), Consumer Price Survey / Economically Active Population Survey, 2026-05 — license
Source: Eurostat, accessed 2026-05 — license