In Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, unemployment remained stable at 5.0% in January 2026, maintaining levels at or below this threshold since April 2022, according to data published in March 2026. Of the 33 OECD countries with available data, 18 saw unemployment rates unchanged from December 2025, while 11 experienced decreases and four countries—Colombia, Denmark, Norway, and Turkey—posted increases.

Notable developments include Spain’s unemployment rate dropping below 10% for the first time since March 2008, while Finland remained the only OECD country with double-digit unemployment. Japan, South Korea, and Mexico continued to report unemployment rates at or below 3.0%. Total unemployed across OECD countries reached 34.9 million, slightly down from December but still 500,000 higher than January 2025 levels.

Gender disparities persisted, with women’s unemployment at 5.1% compared to men’s 4.8%. The European Union and eurozone maintained historic lows at 5.9% and 6.1% respectively. Denmark recorded the most significant increase, reaching 7.4%—its highest level since January 2004—driven primarily by a 2.6 percentage point rise in women’s unemployment.

These mixed signals suggest labor markets may be entering a more volatile phase after years of steady improvement.