A Chartbook of International Labor Comparisons

Abstract

[Excerpt] This chartbook focuses on the labor market situation in selected countries for the most recent year available; some charts also show trends. Charts in sections 1-4 and section 6 include countries in North America (the United States, Canada, and Mexico) and selected Asian-Pacific and European economies. Some countries do not appear on all charts due to the lack of suitable data. It should also be noted that the selected economies are not representative of all of Europe and the Asian-Pacific region; rather, they tend to be the more industrialized economies in these regions. Weighted aggregates for 15 European Union countries (EU-15) also are shown on many of the charts in these sections. These represent European Union member countries prior to the expansion of the European Union to 25 countries on May 1, 2004, and to 27 countries on January 1, 2007. The EU-15 countries are Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. In section 5, several indicators are presented for six large emerging economies: Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, the Russian Federation, and South Africa. The appendix describes the definitions, sources, and methods used to compile the data in the chartbook. For some series, the appendix provides cautions about the exact comparability of the measures.