Self-employment may be seen either as a survival strategy for those who cannot find any other means of earning an income or as evidence of entrepreneurial spirit and a desire to be one’s own boss. The self-employment rates shown in this section reflect these various motives.

Most OECD countries publish unemployment rates that are based on the numbers of persons who are registered as unemployed at government labour offices. Because they are available soon after the end of the month or quarter to which they refer, the numbers of registered unemployed are treated as the “headline” unemployment figures by many countries. However, the rules for registering at labour offices vary from country to country, so that unemployment statistics based on this source are not comparable between countries. The unemployment rates shown here use ILO Guidelines that provide common definitions of unemployment and of the labour force.

Clearly, long-term unemployment is of particular concern to policy makers. Quite apart from the mental stress caused to the unemployed and their families, high rates of long-term unemployment indicate that labour markets are operating inefficiently and, in countries which pay generous unemployment benefits, the existence of long-term unemployment is a significant burden on government finances.

Unemployment rates vary significantly among OECD countries but large international differences hide even larger differences among regions. In 2006, regional differences in unemployment rates were above 10 percentage points in one third of OECD countries.

Labour compensation per unit labour input shows the average compensation received by employees of businesses, either per hour worked or on an annual basis per employee. Unit labour costs represent a link between productivity and the cost of labour in producing output. Annual growth rates show relative changes over time across countries. Adjusting labour compensation by purchasing power parity (PPP) converts all countries data to a common currency allowing meaningful cross-country comparisons of data in levels to be made. The labour compensation country data can be interpreted as the quantity of equivalent goods and services that could be purchased for the compensation received for labour services rendered. The data presented here are an output of the OECD System of Unit Labour Cost and Related Indicators which produces annual and quarterly unit labour cost and related indicators (e.g., labour compensation per unit labour input, labour productivity) according to a specific methodology to ensure data are comparable across all OECD member countries.

Governments of some OECD countries have pursued policies to make it easier for parents to reconcile work and family, and some of these policies also tend to reduce working time. Examples include the extension of annual paid leave, maternity/parental leave and workers’ options for working part-time schedules or, albeit less frequently, the reduction of the full-time workweek.