Hiring in OECD area rises marginally in first quarter amid economic recovery

Employment in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries increased slightly in the first quarter as economies recovered from the coronavirus pandemic on the back of vaccination programmes and stimulus measures.

The overall employment rate among the 38 members of the group reached 66.8 per cent in the first quarter of 2021, up from 66.7 per cent recorded in the previous quarter, the Paris-based organisation said in a statement on Monday. However, it highlighted wide disparities in the employment rate among different countries.

The OECD group includes a number of countries in the eurozone, as well as the US, Japan and the UK.

Hiring has accelerated in various countries as the rate of Covid-19 infections slows and movement restrictions ease, leading to increased economic activity. In April, the International Monetary Fund raised its global economic forecast for the second time this year thanks to a faster-than-expected Covid-19 vaccination drive and fiscal and monetary support provided by governments and central banks.

The global economy is now set to grow 6 per cent this year, compared with a previous forecast of 5.5 per cent, the Washington-based lender said in its latest World Economic Outlook.

The Euro area employment rate stood at 66.9 per cent in the first quarter of the year, compared with 68.4 per cent in the US and 77.6 per cent in Japan, the OECD said.

A large disparity is also observed within the Euro area, with the employment rate ranging from a maximum of 79.3 per cent in the Netherlands to a minimum of 53.9 per cent in Greece.

In the US, hiring continued to grow but at a slower rate, as the number of furloughed employees returning to work fell, according to the OECD. The employment rate in the world’s largest economy jumped by 0.5 percentage point in the first quarter of 2021 to 68.4 per cent followed by a 0.4 percentage point jump – to 68.8 per cent – in the second quarter.

In Canada, meanwhile, the employment rate increased in the first and second quarters of the year to 72.1 per cent and 72.4 per cent respectively.

A strong rise in the employment rate was also observed in Chile, Colombia, Australia, Mexico, Japan and New Zealand in the first quarter. The employment rate declined in Israel and was stable in South Korea and the UK, according to the OECD estimates.

The employment rate among young people aged 15 to 24 in the OECD area stood at 39.9 per cent in the first quarter with youths making up 32.2 per cent of total Euro area jobs, while in Japan and the US it stood at 46.8 per cent and 48.9 per cent respectively.

The OECD said that the employment rate among men is 14 percentage points higher than women's rate of employment.

A number of countries increased the pace of vaccination to prevent the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. As of Monday, more than 3.85 billion doses have been administered across 180 countries, according to data collected by Bloomberg.