The unemployment rate in advanced countries remained stuck at 7.5 per cent in March, the OECD says, leaving the number of jobless still one-third higher than at the start of the global economic crisis.
The OECD, a policy forum for advanced democracies, said about 11 million more people were looking for work in its 34 member countries than in July 2008, before the global financial crisis began.
The number of jobless has however dropped by four million from the peak in April 2010 as the global economy has begun to recover.
The unemployment rate climbed by 0.3 points to 5.8 per cent in Australia and 0.4 points to 3.5 per cent in South Korea, according to the OECD.
While the 18-nation eurozone is returning to tepid growth, the unemployment rate was steady for the fourth month running, at 11.8 per cent.
The jobless rate also held steady in March in the United states at 6.7 per cent and in Japan at 3.6 per cent.
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