Natural Unemployment in OECD CountriesAmong members of the OECD, estimates of the natural rates of unemployment in 2013 ranged from 3.3% in Norway to 16.5% in Spain. The blue bar shows the average across all the OECD countries, 7.6%. The U.S. natural rate of unemployment, 6.1%, is low relative to both the average rate and the rates in the major European economies of the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, France, and Spain. As mentioned earlier, the rates in Europe may be elevated by frictional unemployment caused by generous unemployment benefits. In addition, high minimum wages in Europe can discourage employers from offering jobs and lead to higher rates of structural unemployment.
Source: OECD.