A Now Hiring sign near the entrance to a Ross department store in Hallandale, Florida. Unemployment in the US fell to 5.2% in August. Getty Images
A Now Hiring sign near the entrance to a Ross department store in Hallandale, Florida. Unemployment in the US fell to 5.2% in August. Getty Images
A Now Hiring sign near the entrance to a Ross department store in Hallandale, Florida. Unemployment in the US fell to 5.2% in August. Getty Images
A Now Hiring sign near the entrance to a Ross department store in Hallandale, Florida. Unemployment in the US fell to 5.2% in August. Getty Images

OECD unemployment rate dips to 6% in August


Alice Haine
  • English
  • Arabic

The unemployment rate in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries dipped slightly to 6 per cent in August from 6.1 per cent in July, leaving it 0.7 per cent above the pre-pandemic rate seen in February last year.

The total number of unemployed workers across the OECD area, which includes eurozone countries as well as the US, Australia, Japan and the UK, fell by 1 million in August to reach 39.7 million, as the global economy slowly recovers from the Covid-19 crisis amid a surge in vaccinations.

However, this figure is still 4.3 million above the pre-pandemic level seen in February last year.

“While the rate remains 0.7 percentage points above the pre-pandemic rate as at February 2020, this latest update represents a continuation of the downward trend since the peak of 8.8 per cent in April 2020, with the exception of April 2021,” said the OECD.

“However, some care is needed in interpreting the fall in the OECD area unemployment rate when compared with the April 2020 peak, as it largely reflects the return of temporary laid-off workers in the US and Canada, where they are recorded as unemployed.”

In the eurozone, the unemployment rate declined to 7.5 per cent in August from 7.6 per cent in July – the fourth consecutive monthly fall – with declines of 0.3 per cent or more in Greece, Finland, Spain, Latvia and Lithuania.

The eurozone's August contraction is the fourth consecutive month of improvement since the near-term peak rate of 8.2 per cent in April, according to Jonas Keck, economist at the Centre for Economics and Business Research.

“The month-on-month improvement in August was slower than in the previous months, however. The eurozone’s unemployment rate is now close to pre-pandemic levels, standing just 0.1 percentage points above the rate witnessed in February 2020.”

Outside Europe, the largest decreases in unemployment were seen in Columbia where the jobless rate dipped to 12.7 per cent in August from 13.6 per cent the previous month and in Korea, with a drop to 2.8 per cent from 3.3 per cent.

In Canada, unemployment fell to 7.1 per cent from 7.5 per cent while the US saw a decline to 5.2 per cent from 5.4 per cent.

“More recent data show that in September, the unemployment rate declined further in the US by 0.4 percentage points to 4.8 per cent,” the OECD said.

While OECD unemployment for people aged 25 and over fell to 5.1 per cent from 5.3 per cent in August, it increased slightly to 12.5 per cent for people aged 15 to 24 following three months of decline.

However, large differences across OECD countries in youth unemployment rates remain, with the figure in Spain at 33 per cent and in Greece at 30.8 per cent compared to 7.4 per cent in the Netherlands and 7.5 per cent in Germany.

While August data for the UK is not available yet, the jobless rate fell to 4.5 per cent in the three months to August, down from its pandemic peak of 5.2 per cent at the end of last year, however this is still above the 4 per cent recorded at the start of 2020.

Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EXare%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJanuary%2018%2C%202021%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPadmini%20Gupta%2C%20Milind%20Singh%2C%20Mandeep%20Singh%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20Raised%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2410%20million%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E28%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eundisclosed%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMS%26amp%3BAD%20Ventures%2C%20Middle%20East%20Venture%20Partners%2C%20Astra%20Amco%2C%20the%20Dubai%20International%20Financial%20Centre%2C%20Fintech%20Fund%2C%20500%20Startups%2C%20Khwarizmi%20Ventures%2C%20and%20Phoenician%20Funds%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Company%C2%A0profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ELeap%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMarch%202021%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ziad%20Toqan%20and%20Jamil%20Khammu%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPre-seed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Undisclosed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeven%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
  • Priority access to new homes from participating developers
  • Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
  • Flexible payment plans from developers
  • Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
  • DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
The specs

Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel

Power: 579hp

Torque: 859Nm

Transmission: Single-speed automatic

Price: From Dh825,900

On sale: Now

Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Jiu-Jitsu World Tour Calendar 2018/19

July 29: OTA Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan

Sep 22-23: LA Convention Centre in Los Angeles, US

Nov 16-18: Carioca Arena Centre in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Feb 7-9: Mubadala Arena in Abu Dhabi, UAE

Mar 9-10: Copper Box Arena in London, UK

Global state-owned investor ranking by size

1.

United States

2.

China

3.

UAE

4.

Japan

5

Norway

6.

Canada

7.

Singapore

8.

Australia

9.

Saudi Arabia

10.

South Korea

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

 

 

Players Selected for La Liga Trials

U18 Age Group
Name: Ahmed Salam (Malaga)
Position: Right Wing
Nationality: Jordanian

Name: Yahia Iraqi (Malaga)
Position: Left Wing
Nationality: Morocco

Name: Mohammed Bouherrafa (Almeria)
Position: Centre-Midfield
Nationality: French

Name: Mohammed Rajeh (Cadiz)
Position: Striker
Nationality: Jordanian

U16 Age Group
Name: Mehdi Elkhamlichi (Malaga)
Position: Lead Striker
Nationality: Morocco

How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
  1. Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
  2. Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
  3. Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
  4. Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
  5. Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
  6. The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
  7. Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269

*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year

The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.0-litre%204-cyl%20turbo%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E190hp%20at%205%2C600rpm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E320Nm%20at%201%2C500-4%2C000rpm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E7-speed%20dual-clutch%20auto%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E10.9L%2F100km%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh119%2C900%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Prop idols

Girls full-contact rugby may be in its infancy in the Middle East, but there are already a number of role models for players to look up to.

Sophie Shams (Dubai Exiles mini, England sevens international)

An Emirati student who is blazing a trail in rugby. She first learnt the game at Dubai Exiles and captained her JESS Primary school team. After going to study geophysics at university in the UK, she scored a sensational try in a cup final at Twickenham. She has played for England sevens, and is now contracted to top Premiership club Saracens.

----

Seren Gough-Walters (Sharjah Wanderers mini, Wales rugby league international)

Few players anywhere will have taken a more circuitous route to playing rugby on Sky Sports. Gough-Walters was born in Al Wasl Hospital in Dubai, raised in Sharjah, did not take up rugby seriously till she was 15, has a master’s in global governance and ethics, and once worked as an immigration officer at the British Embassy in Abu Dhabi. In the summer of 2021 she played for Wales against England in rugby league, in a match that was broadcast live on TV.

----

Erin King (Dubai Hurricanes mini, Ireland sevens international)

Aged five, Australia-born King went to Dubai Hurricanes training at The Sevens with her brothers. She immediately struck up a deep affection for rugby. She returned to the city at the end of last year to play at the Dubai Rugby Sevens in the colours of Ireland in the Women’s World Series tournament on Pitch 1.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Updated: October 13, 2021, 10:44 AM`