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The 10 Countries With The Highest Unemployment Rates


10 countries with worse unemployment than the U.S.

America's unemployment rate remains stubbornly high at 7.8 percent, according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics, released in December 2012. But that figure represents a vast improvement from the worst of the recession, when the tally stood at 10 percent in October 2009.

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But believe it or not, many other countries in the developed world are struggling far more, as the financial crisis was a global one, according to statistics from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. The OECD, which tracks employment rates in 34 industrialized nations, including the U.S., finds many other countries with higher unemployment rates -- with one as high as 21 percent.

Here is the list of the 10 countries with the highest unemployment rate.

1. Spain (21.8 percent)
2. Greece (17.9 percent)
3. Ireland (14.6 percent)
4. Slovak Republic (13.6 percent)
5. Portugal (13.4 percent)
6. Estonia (12.7 percent)
7. Hungary (11.0 percent)
8. Turkey (10.0 percent)
9. Poland (9.8 percent)
10. France (9.3 percent)


Spain's Unemployment Rate Jumps To 26 Percent





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Dan Fastenberg

Dan Fastenberg

Dan Fastenberg has more than a decade of experience working as a journalist. Most recently he was a reporter with TIME Magazine covering politics with analyst Mark Halperin. Previously, he was a writer for the Thomson Reuters news service's Latin America desk. He was also a reporter and associate editor for the Buenos Aires Herald while living in South America. Follow Dan on Twitter. Email Dan at daniel.fastenberg@teamaol.com. Add Dan to your Google+ circles.

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Laurie

Well, if we compute unemployment numbers the way every other pres besides this one has, we would be 3rd behind Spain and Greece. Yay for us.

January 28 2013 at 12:56 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Thomas N. Mason

I guess that this is supposed to make us feel better. If they would count the people that ran out of unemployment and somehow got on the disability roles in the last four years (5.4 million) then we would be #1. It is a mystery how in the last four years it got pretty easy to get on disability. Could there be someone in the federal govt. that had made this change to make the numbers look good for Obama. Keep in mind that BEFORE this our Social Security was short on funds and this will not help. And that does not count Welfare. We need to reverse Clintons NAFTA

January 28 2013 at 11:54 AM Report abuse +2 rate up rate down Reply
Live-Laugh-Love

I guess their business model (and Obama's) in these countries is not working...big government and lots of entitlements = high unemployment. We are unfortunately being led in that direction by all the power-addicts in Congress that have found out they can get re-elected if they just give out more and more freebies to the unproductive.

January 28 2013 at 11:48 AM Report abuse +2 rate up rate down Reply
mociambz

If they reported the real unemployment numbers we would be much higher up the list. lamestream media like the huff post will never tell the truth as long as a dem is in office

January 28 2013 at 11:41 AM Report abuse +3 rate up rate down Reply
Welcome, Gary!

The bureau only counts unemployed as those getting unemplyment money. Those people who have run out of unemployment and those who have just given up are not counted in the official numbers. If you could gather a count on those people too our numbers would be much higher.

January 28 2013 at 11:37 AM Report abuse +4 rate up rate down Reply
coyydogm

Dont forget to add the 10 milluion more on welfare last year, of wait they dont figure that in to the Unemployment numbers HOW PATHETIC

January 28 2013 at 11:26 AM Report abuse +2 rate up rate down Reply
coyydogm

Country is screwed because Immigrants and welfare skeeves, are voting in people that will give them more for nothing. Strip their Right to vote seeing as they dont contribute to the budget, why should they have a voice in how its spent? Then we can cut all their free crap and make America strong again

January 28 2013 at 11:25 AM Report abuse +1 rate up rate down Reply
1Reality

Politically, we are in uncharted territory with our current President. He is a silver-tongued socialist, whose elitist ideology is emotionally empowered by his racial roots. He has effectively leveraged this status into the ability to abuse the power of the U.S. Presidency to CONVERT America into a country very different from one the Constitution allows. Clear evidence shows Obama’s disdain for the Constitution. How then could he be elected President? Simple answer is that he was voted in. Obama continues to lead the U.S. into a thorough financial collapse that will leave him virtually unstoppable in his assault on the Constitution. Half (or more) gun owners will not fight, if it means they lose their union jobs, medical care, and other necessities Obama ALREADY controls. The next thing to watch for is Obama's 3rd term. Sadly for America, the Constitution places ultimate authority with the “free” people it is designed to protect. Freedom is very powerful. If you’re not careful, you may be “free” enough to destroy your own freedom. Just like Esau traded his birth right for a bowl of stew in Genesis, Americans have traded our freedom for cell phones, food stamps, and class envy.

January 28 2013 at 11:24 AM Report abuse +1 rate up rate down Reply
waj5432

Well - I am hoping after the election in 2014 there will be at least a 50% unemployment in the Congress. I hope the voters remember this DO NOTHING CONGRESS and vote in new people.

January 28 2013 at 11:17 AM Report abuse +2 rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to waj5432's comment
djsallee1

I think its the "do nothing senate" considering Congress is the only legislative branch that passed a budget in 4 years.

January 28 2013 at 11:20 AM Report abuse -1 rate up rate down Reply
JamesR

Just wait until this obamacare tax kicks in which is nothing but more give aways for the takers that will be the illegals that will be in line for welfare checks and ebt cards in exchange for their votes. How else does an incumbent get re elected with worse unemployment and higher deficits than he inherited.

January 28 2013 at 11:13 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply

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