Band 9: The table above shows the percentage of people unemployed in the total labor Work force across 9 countries in 1994 and 2004. Summaries the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

The table compares the unemployment rates among the labor force in nine countries in 1994 and 2004.

Overall, while most countries witnessed a decline in unemployment, several nations, such as Poland, Germany, and Japan, experienced a rise. Ireland had the most significant decrease, whereas Poland saw the sharpest increase, becoming the country with the highest unemployment rate by 2004.

In 1994, Ireland recorded the highest unemployment rate at 14.8%, followed by Poland with 12.4%. However, by 2004, Ireland had seen a dramatic improvement, with the figure dropping to just 4.4%, while Poland’s rate surged to 19%, the highest among all the countries listed.

Italy and Canada also experienced decreases in unemployment, from 11.8% to 8.4% and 10.6% to 7.7%, respectively. The UK halved its rate from 9.5% to 4.7%. In contrast, Germany’s unemployment rose from 7% to 9.4%, and Japan’s rate almost doubled, from 2.7% to 4.7%.

The USA and Australia reported relatively small changes. The USA’s unemployment rate decreased slightly from 7.2% to 5.4%, while Australia’s figure remained fairly stable, increasing only marginally from 5% to 5.4%.