The extremely strong reaction in Spain meant that the climb in its unemployment rate was even larger than that observed in Ireland, which suffered an output shock that was nearly three times larger. Recessions that 01 until 2006 are included. By contrast, the unemployment response in the 2008-09 recession was muted in most European countries (including Belgium, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway and the Slovak Republic), as well as in Japan and Korea.