The OECD released the following statement:

Ireland’s unemployment rate was the third highest in the OECD area, when it was recorded in December last year.

According to the OECD, Ireland’s unemployment rate was 13.3%. Only Spain and the Slovak Republic had higher rates, at 19.5% and 13.6% respectively.

The increase in unemployment is the highest in the OECD area. The increase in the unemployment figure was 5% if measured for the year from December 2008.

The United Kingdom’s last recorded unemployment figure was 7.8% while that of the Eurozone was 10%.

Only three countries recorded falls in their unemployment figures. They were Australia, Canada, Finland and the United States.

The OECD area covers 29 countries for which unemployment rates have been estimated. These comprise 19 of the 27 European Union countries plus Canada, the United States, Australia, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey.