Higher trade openness is linked to lower unemployment rates in the long run. This was found by analyzing data from 20 OECD countries and a larger set of countries. The study controlled for factors like business cycles, institutions, and geography, and found that a 10 percent increase in trade openness can reduce unemployment by about one percentage point. The impact of trade openness on unemployment is mainly through its effect on Total Factor Productivity (TFP), and labor market institutions do not seem to influence this relationship.