Impact of the crisis on unemployment so far less pronounced in the EU than in the US

The unemployment rate in the European Union has risen sharply since the first quarter of 2008 as a result of the economic crisis. However, the increase has been much smaller than in the United States, where the rate has overtaken that of the EU despite having been much lower at the start of the crisis. Unemployment varies greatly across both Europe and the US. Recent data from the US Current Population Survey and from the European Labour Force Survey (LFS) (fourth quarter of 2009) are used to analyse unemployment in the two areas by gender, educational level and duration. The data are supplemented by seasonally adjusted monthly data. This publication is the fourth in a series analysing the effects of the current economic crisis on the labour market.