Labour indicators levels - Regions — Employment by country
<p>This dataset presents indicators on the size of the labour force, employment, and unemployment in large regions (TL2) and, where available, in small regions (TL3).</p> <p><strong>Data definition and source</strong></p> <p>The labour force status is presented by sex, for 15-64 year-olds and 15+ year-olds age...
What the numbers show
Labour indicators levels - Regions — Employment is currently reported for 45 countries. The highest value is 162.91 million Persons in United States; the lowest is 229,500 Persons in Iceland.
The median across all reporting countries is 5.15 million Persons, and the mean is 18.08 million Persons.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 710.
Over the past decade 41 countries rose and 4 fell. The largest increase was in Malta (up 66.3%), and the largest decrease in Romania (down 9.9%).
Labour indicators levels - Regions — Employment: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 162.91 million Persons | 2024 | up 11.1% | rising |
| 2 | Brazil | 95.88 million Persons | 2013 | up 14.8% | rising |
| 3 | Russia | 72.75 million Persons | 2014 | up 6.4% | rising |
| 4 | Japan | 67.81 million Persons | 2024 | up 6.8% | flat |
| 5 | Mexico | 59.37 million Persons | 2024 | up 20.4% | rising |
| 6 | Germany | 42.55 million Persons | 2025 | up 5.8% | rising |
| 7 | United Kingdom | 33.00 million Persons | 2023 | up 9.8% | rising |
| 8 | France | 29.33 million Persons | 2025 | up 10.7% | rising |
| 9 | Italy | 24.12 million Persons | 2025 | up 7.4% | rising |
| 10 | Spain | 22.22 million Persons | 2025 | up 24.4% | rising |
| 11 | Colombia | 20.77 million Persons | 2012 | up 21.5% | rising |
| 12 | Canada | 20.17 million Persons | 2023 | up 13.9% | rising |
| 13 | Poland | 17.24 million Persons | 2025 | up 7.2% | rising |
| 14 | Peru | 17.18 million Persons | 2023 | up 9.5% | rising |
| 15 | South Africa | 15.15 million Persons | 2014 | up 3.8% | rising |
| 16 | Australia | 14.57 million Persons | 2025 | up 23.8% | rising |
| 17 | Netherlands | 9.90 million Persons | 2025 | up 19.0% | rising |
| 18 | Chile | 8.15 million Persons | 2021 | up 5.8% | rising |
| 19 | Romania | 7.69 million Persons | 2025 | down 9.9% | falling |
| 20 | Sweden | 5.33 million Persons | 2025 | up 10.2% | rising |
| 21 | Portugal | 5.28 million Persons | 2025 | up 15.8% | flat |
| 22 | Czechia | 5.25 million Persons | 2025 | up 4.2% | rising |
| 23 | Belgium | 5.15 million Persons | 2025 | up 13.1% | rising |
| 24 | Switzerland | 4.89 million Persons | 2025 | up 7.7% | rising |
| 25 | Hungary | 4.69 million Persons | 2025 | up 11.3% | rising |
| 26 | Austria | 4.50 million Persons | 2025 | up 8.5% | rising |
| 27 | Greece | 4.34 million Persons | 2025 | up 20.2% | falling |
| 28 | Israel | 3.91 million Persons | 2020 | up 33.2% | rising |
| 29 | Denmark | 3.10 million Persons | 2025 | up 14.4% | rising |
| 30 | Bulgaria | 2.93 million Persons | 2025 | down 3.4% | flat |
| 31 | Norway | 2.92 million Persons | 2025 | up 10.7% | rising |
| 32 | Serbia | 2.87 million Persons | 2025 | up 11.5% | rising |
| 33 | Ireland | 2.82 million Persons | 2025 | up 37.0% | rising |
| 34 | New Zealand | 2.79 million Persons | 2021 | up 27.8% | rising |
| 35 | Finland | 2.61 million Persons | 2025 | up 7.2% | rising |
| 36 | Costa Rica | 2.20 million Persons | 2024 | up 6.6% | rising |
| 37 | Croatia | 1.70 million Persons | 2025 | up 9.7% | flat |
| 38 | Lithuania | 1.46 million Persons | 2025 | up 9.6% | flat |
| 39 | Slovenia | 996,600 Persons | 2025 | up 8.6% | rising |
| 40 | Latvia | 889,700 Persons | 2025 | down 0.7% | falling |
| 41 | North Macedonia | 704,600 Persons | 2025 | down 0.2% | rising |
| 42 | Estonia | 698,800 Persons | 2025 | up 10.4% | rising |
| 43 | Malta | 329,700 Persons | 2025 | up 66.3% | rising |
| 44 | Luxembourg | 328,300 Persons | 2025 | up 27.5% | rising |
| 45 | Iceland | 229,500 Persons | 2024 | up 29.2% | rising |
Regions and income groups
Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.
- Korea 28.58 million Persons
- Slovak Republic 2.61 million Persons
About this data
<p>This dataset presents indicators on the size of the labour force, employment, and unemployment in large regions (TL2) and, where available, in small regions (TL3).</p> <p><strong>Data definition and source</strong></p> <p>The labour force status is presented by sex, for 15-64 year-olds and 15+ year-olds age ranges, the latter having less country coverage. Data is based on a labour force survey using ILO guidelines and collected from Eurostat (reg_lmk) for EU countries and via delegates of the OECD Working Party on Territorial Indicators (WPTI), as well as from national statistical offices' websites.</p> <p><strong>Definition of regions</strong></p> <p>Regions are subnational units below national boundaries. OECD countries have two regional levels: large regions (territorial level 2 or TL2) and small regions (territorial level 3 or TL3). For more information, see the OECD Territorial grid <a href="https://webfs-cfe.oecd.org/files/.Stat/region/OECD_territorial-grid_TL2024.pdf">(pdf)</a> and the OECD Territorial Correspondence Table <a href="https://webfs-cfe.oecd.org/files/.Stat/region/OECD%20Territorial%20correspondence%20-%20TL2024c.xlsx">(xlsx)</a>. </p> <p><strong>Cite this dataset</strong></p> <p>OECD Regions, Cities and Local Areas database <a href="http://oe.cd/geostats">http://oe.cd/geostats</a>.</p> <p><strong>Further information</strong></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://regions-cities-atlas.oecd.org/">OECD Regions and Cities Statistical Atlas</a> </li> <li><a href="https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/oecd-regions-and-cities-at-a-glance-2024_f42db3bf-en.html">OECD Regions and Cities at a Glance</a></li> </ul> <p>For questions and/or comments, please email <a href="mailto:RegionStat@oecd.org">RegionStat@oecd.org</a>.</p>