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Unemployment by the numbers: U.S. vs. the world

Released: 
June 16, 2013

U.S. unemployment is considered high at 7.5 percent. But its better than the European Union, where jobless rates are at 11 percent.

President Obama begins his first trip to Europe in two years today, first for the G-8 summit in Northern Ireland and then a trip to Berlin. It's a Europe still focused on austerity policies that conflict with Obama's own, where unemployment rates remain high.

Today we take a look back at one of our previous infographics, which shows us that despite our own high unemployment rate, sometimes its all about perspective.

The U.S. unemployment rate hovered at 7.5 percent in April, down from its recession peak, but still historically high. Compare that figure to Europe, though; the European Union was at 11 percent unemployment, up from 10.3 percent a year prior.

The EU nations with the highest current unemployment are Greece at 27 percent and Spain with 26.8 percent.

At the other end of the scale in the EU, Austria posted 4.9 percent unemployment in April. Germany was at 5.4 percent.

Check out our infographic for more stats from around the world. Check out What Do Others Say for more views, then add to the discussion below. Does todays fact make you feel any better about U.S. unemployment?