OECD unemployment rate stable at 6.1 pct in February

The unemployment rate in the 35-nation Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) remained stable at 6.1 percent in February, said the Paris-based think-tank on Tuesday.

In the euro area, unemployment declined by 0.1 percentage point to 9.5 percent over the period with the joblessness rate "stable or declined in nearly all constituent countries," the international economic body noted in its report.

The best performer in the European bloc was Latvia where unemployment stood at 9.3 percent, down from the 9.7 percent reported in January.

In February, the rate also fell by 0.3 percentage points to 11.5 percent in Italy and by 0.2 percentage points in Spain. However, the figures in Germany and France, Europe's main powerhouses, was stable at 3.9 percent and 10 percent respectively.

The OECD reported unemployment rate for youth at 12.3 percent in February, down by 0.2 percentage point. However, it remains above the pre-crisis level.

Overall, there were 38 million people unemployed in the OECD area over the period, 5.4 million more than in April 2008 before the financial crisis. Endit