The given line graph illustrates the unemployment rates in the US as well as Japan, over a six-year period, starting from 1993 in March.
At first glance, it is clear that the US had the highest figure at the beginning of the period, while Japan recorded the lowest. However, the figure for the USA declined, whereas Japan experienced a significant increase, and the gap between the two countries narrowed considerably by the end of the period.
In March 1993, the US unemployment rate stood at its peak of 7.0 percent. Over the next three years, this figure decreased steadily, falling to about 5.4 percent by March 1996. Despite minor fluctuations between 1996 and 1998, the downward trend continued, with the rate eventually bottoming out at about 4.5 percent before finishing at exactly 5.0 percent in March 1999.
In 1993, the percent was 2.5 in Japan. It rose consistently over the first three years to reach 4.3 percent in March 1996, followed by a brief decline to around 4.0 percent. Afterwards, Japanese unemployment picked up momentum again, rising sharply to overtake the US rate in early 1998 at approximately 5.2 percent. By March 1999, the rate stabilized and matched the US figure at 5.0 percent.
