The table compares the proportion of unemployed individuals in the working population across 9 different nations in 1994 and 2004.
Overall, most countries surveyed reported declines in unemployment over the decade with the exceptions of Japan, Poland, and Germany, where unemployment figures rose. Particularly striking is Poland’s persistent struggle with joblessness, which escalated from an already high level in 1994 to become the highest among all surveyed nations a decade later.
Looking first at the countries that achieve modest reductions, the US saw only a marginal improvement, with the unemployment rate declining by just 0.6 percentage points to 5.4% in 2004. Australia, Canada, and Italy registered more significant progress, each achieving a decrease of approximately 3 percentage points. By 2004, their respective joblessness had fallen to 4.5%, 7.7% and 8.4%.
The UK and Ireland made far more significant strides in tackling unemployment. The UK managed to halve its joblessness rate from 9.5% to 4.7%, aligning with Australia’s figure by 2004. Ireland recorded the most striking turnaround: from topping the unemployment table in 1994 with 14.8%, it slashed the figure to just 4.4%, the lowest among all countries surveyed a decade later.
Bucking the general declining pattern, the remaining nations saw the proportions out of work growing. Poland experienced the sharpest increase in unemployment, rising from 12.3% to 19% ( the highest figure across the board), making it the most affected nation by 2004. Germany, though facing a less severe upturn, still saw joblessness rise from 7% to 9.4%, placing it second-worst on the chart by the end of the period. Finally, Japan’s joblessness figures remained among the lowest in both years, despite climbing from 2.7% to 4.5%.