Unemployment Slightly Down in the Developed World

Down to 7.9 percent from 8 percent

THE unemployment rate in advanced countries edged very slightly down to 7.9 per cent in August from 8.0 per cent in July, with the differences from one region to another remaining large, the OECD said.

It cautioned drop in the headline rate was mostly due to rounding, with the monthly change extremely slight, and should be considered as statistically stable.

In the OECD area, 47.8 million people were ranked as unemployed, an increase of 13.1 million from the onset of the financial crises in July 2008, the OECD said.