The unemployment rate in advanced world economies rose to 8.3 percent in October from 8.2 percent in September, having been at about these levels for most of the year, the OECD said on Tuesday. "Around 45.1 million people were unemployed across the OECD area in October 2011, down 1.5 million from October 2010 but still 14.1 million higher than in October 2007," the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said in a report.
It noted that euro area unemployment rose 0.1 percentage points to 10.3 percent in October, "the highest rate recorded since the (2008) global financial crisis." The Spanish jobless at 22.8 percent was up 0.3 percentage points on the month and by comparison, up from just 7.9 percent in July 2007.
Germany, the euro area's biggest economy and paymaster, saw its unemployment rate fall 0.2 percentage points to 5.5 percent, continuing to improve from a high of 8.0 percent in mid-2009, the OECD said. US unemployment was down 0.4 percentage points to 8.6 percent while Canada increased 0.1 point to 7.4 percent.