PARIS (AP) - Unemployment is rising around the world as the recession leaves few corners untouched - but sharp differences remain between companies directly hit by financial or housing-market collapses and those that have deliberately protected jobs with expensive measures - including subsidizing shorter working weeks.
Unemployment rates in the 30 wealthy countries that belong to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development range from a low of 3.2 percent in the Netherlands to 17.6 percent in Spain, according to July figures.
In the developing world, the downturn has also taken its toll. Unemploym-ent in Brazil appears now to be easing a bit, but Mexico in August posted its highest jobless rate in 13 years. In Africa, the continent's largest economy, South Africa, is in the grips of its first recession in 17 years and about a quarter of the population is officially without work.
The U.S. unemployment rate was 9.4 percent in July, above the European Union rate of 8.8 percent.