Among 38 countries, 10 experienced increases in both employment and participation rates compared to the previous quarter, with six, including France and Japan, reaching or nearing historical highs.
Portugal reported the 19th highest employment rate among OECD countries at 73.6%, surpassing the organization’s average of 70.3%.
The participation rate in Portugal was 78.6%, also above the OECD average of 74.1%, reflecting a year-on-year increase of 0.9 percentage points.
Employment rates rose in 17 countries during the second quarter, with Turkey recording the lowest rate at 54.9%. In contrast, Japan, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Iceland all had rates above 80%.
The OECD noted that employment rates stabilized in 11 countries, while 10 experienced declines.
The participation rate exceeded the OECD average in three-quarters of the organization’s countries, with particularly low rates in Turkey, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Italy.
In August 2025, the unemployment rate remained at 5.0% in the OECD, a figure consistent since April 2022.
By the end of August, the labor force in OECD countries totaled 659.6 million people, with 625.8 million of working age, and 34.9 million unemployed.
Additionally, there were 230.1 million inactive individuals with respect to the labor force.
