West Germany had one of the lowest rates of unemployment back in 1980. / It stood at just three percent. / But then over the next three years it rose quite sharply and steadily. / In 1982 it was nearly six percent，/ and in 1983 it was the same as France. / 1984 saw a slight increase, and 1985 a slight fall. / The 1985 figure was eight percent, / in between France and the United States. / The United States has had ups and downs, / or rather, it's the only country to show a significant drop in the number of unemployed. / This is due to high interest rates，/ which haven’t helped the rest of the world. / In 1980 the rate was about the same as France and Great Britain, / slightly higher than France, actually, at about seven percent. / This rose to 7. 5 percent in 1981，and then peaked the following year at over nine percent. /