OECD employment and labour force participation rates at record highs in Q2 2026; unemployment rate remains near record low in August

OECD employment and labour force participation rates reached record highs in Q2 2026, at 70.4% and 74.2%, respectively. However, both rates increased by 0.1 percentage point (p.p.) or less from the previous quarter, remaining broadly stable (Figure 1). Compared with the same quarter in 2025, both rates were also broadly unchanged. Employment and labour force ...