National job stereotypes need updating

Photograph: Alamy

Jan 22nd 2026|3 min read

THE RICH world’s labour market is on a roll. In the past three years the average unemployment rate in the OECD, a club of mostly wealthy countries, has repeatedly hit historical lows. The employment rate of working-age people is at an all-time high (see chart 1). Not bad in a world of tariffs, geopolitical uncertainty and the threat to jobs from artificial intelligence. Behind the strong aggregate performance lies even more remarkable change. Long-standing stereotypes are melting away.