The line chart compares three different countries in terms of the percentage of unemployed citizens in three different areas between 1993 and 2007.
Overall, there was an increase in the proportion of people who had no jobs in Japan, while a decline was seen in the figures for the UK and the rest of Europe. Despite this, the UK generally had by far the highest figures throughout the period shown.
The percentage of residents in Japan who were unemployed began at 2%, after which it saw a rise to 3% and was maintained at this level until 1999, before increasing to about 5% in 2001. A reverse change, but to a greater extent, was seen in the figures for the UK, which declined from around 11% to 5% in the first 8 years. Meanwhile, 9% of people living in the rest of Europe had no jobs in 1993, with a subsequent increase to reach nearly 11.5% and a further fall to 9% four years later.
From 2001 to 2007, the proportion of people in the UK who said that they were not in the labor force increased, reaching 6%. Conversely, the figures for Japan and the remaining parts of Europe declined significantly, ending at 4% and approximately 8%, respectively.