In Britain the number of unemployed has reached over 2 million (6.5 percent) and there are fears that the number will rise to over 3 million before the recession ends. In America the rate of unemployment is reported to have risen to 8.1 percent. In European countries that have adopted the euro as their currency, the rate was 8.2 percent. In China many millions have been thrown out of work in the cities as factories close following drastic falls in overseas demand for Chinese exports.

In Japan the rate has been consistently lower than in other advanced countries, but the statistics everywhere are unreliable and the method of counting and registering the unemployed varies considerably from country to country. The impact of unemployment also varies depending on the extent of public assistance for those out of work, on the level of savings that can be drawn down and on the extent of support from family members in work.

Anglo-Saxon politicians and businessmen argue that the relative flexibility of the American and to a lesser extent the British labor market makes it easier to lay off labor in a downturn, but does not act as a deterrent to rehiring when demand revives. Europeans counter this by asserting that the greater protection for workers provided under their laws acts as a valuable cushion in a downturn. They do not accept that labor-market rigidity necessarily means that unemployment is kept high by the way in which rules designed to keep people in work effectively deters employers from taking on more workers when demand revives.