Unemployment rate in four countries (2000-2025)

The line graph compares the percentage of the workforce that was unemployed in four countries — Japan, Germany, Spain, and Canada — over a twenty-five-year span from 2000 to 2025.

Overall, Spain endured by far the highest unemployment throughout the period, whereas Japan maintained the lowest and most stable rate. While the figures for most countries ended lower than they began, Spain's rate remained markedly elevated despite a partial recovery.

In 2000, unemployment stood at around 5% in Japan and Germany, 7% in Canada, and a considerably higher 11% in Spain. Japan's rate barely moved over the following decades, drifting between 4% and 5%, and Germany's declined gradually to roughly 3% by 2025.

Spain, by contrast, saw its figure soar to a peak of approximately 26% around 2013 before falling steadily to about 13% by 2025. Canada followed a milder pattern, rising to a high of 9% during the same downturn and then easing back to 6%. The most turbulent movements therefore coincided with the economic crisis of the early 2010s, which affected Spain most severely.