NEWS RELEASE LABOUR MARKET 21 OCTOBER 2015

According to the Icelandic Labour Force Survey the number of persons in the labour force in September 2015 was 188,400. Of those in the labour force 181,300 persons were employed and 7,100 persons were unemployed. The activity rate was 81.4%, the employment rate was 78.4% and the unemployment rate was 3.8%. Between September 2014 and 2015, the activity rate increased by 2.3 percentage points and the employment rate increased by 2.5 points. On the other hand the unemployment rate decreased by 0.3 points from 4.1% in September 2014.

Figure 1. Labour force September 2015


 
Figures may not add up because of rounding.

Seasonally adjusted unemployment was 4% in September
The seasonally adjusted data show that the number of people in the labour force was 190,600 in September 2015 corresponding to an 83% activity rate. According to the seasonal adjustment the unemployment rate was 4% in September compared to 4.1% in August. The number of unemployed persons amounted to 7,600 and had decreased by 300 since August. The employment rate was 79.7% in September. Between August and September, the employment rate decreased by 0.3 points. The trend for seasonally adjusted data in the last six months shows a decrease by 0.1 percentage points in the unemployment rate and 0.4 points decrease for the last 12 months. The employment rate has increased by 0.2 points in the last six months and by 0.6 points in the last 12 months.

 

 

Implementation
September 2015 is divided into four weeks, from 31st of August to 27th of September. The total sample size was 1,212 persons, 16–74 years, randomly chosen from the Population Register. When those who had passed away and those who were living abroad had been deducted from the sample, the net sample was 1,180 persons. In total the number of usable answers was 906 corresponding to a 76.8% response rate. All figures have been weighted by sex and age groups. The confidence limit of the results on the activity rate is ±2.5 points, employment rate ±2.7 points and unemployment rate ±1.5 points. Figures may not add up because of rounding.  

Table 1. Labour market in September - Original
    CI   CI   CI
  2013 (±95%) 2014 (±95%) 2015 (±95%)
Total 16-74 years            
Activity rate 81.8 2.5 79.2 2.6 81.4 2.5
Employment rate 77.6 2.7 75.9 2.7 78.4 2.7
Unemployment rate 5.2 1.6 4.1 1.5 3.8 1.5
Hours of work 41.2 1.3 39.9 1.3 40.7 1.3
Labour force 186,700 5,700 183,200 6,000 188,400 5,900
Employed 177,000 6,100 175,700 6,300 181,300 6,300
Unemployed 9,700 2,900 7,500 2,700 7,100 2,800
Inactive 41,500 5,700 48,200 6,000 42,900 5,900
Est. population 228,200 231,400 231,300
Table 2. Labour market last 6 months - Seasonal adjustment
  Apr-15 May-15 Jun-15 Jul-15 Aug-15 Sep-15
Total 16-74 years            
Activity rate 82.4 82.8 82.8 81.4 83.4 83.0
Employment rate 78.5 78.9 80.1 78.2 80.0 79.7
Unemployment rate 4.7 4.7 3.2 4.0 4.1 4.0
Hours of work 39.8 40.0 40.0 40.2 39.8 40.2
Labour force 192,200 194,400 190,500 188,500 192,500 190,600
Employed 183,100 185,300 184,400 181,000 184,600 182,900
Unemployed 9,100 9,100 6,100 7,500 7,900 7,600
Inactive 41,200 40,400 39,600 43,100 38,200 39,100
Est. population 233,400 234,800 230,100 231,600 230,800 229,600
Table 3. Labour market last 6 months - Seasonal adjustment trend
  Apr-15 May-15 Jun-15 Jul-15 Aug-15 Sep-15
Total 16-74 years            
Activity rate 82.4 82.5 82.6 82.6 82.5 82.5
Employment rate 78.8 79.0 79.0 79.0 79.0 79.0
Unemployment rate 4.4 4.3 4.3 4.3 4.3 4.3
Hours of work 40.0 40.0 40.0 40.0 40.0 40.0
Labour force 191,800 192,000 192,100 191,900 191,700 191,600
Employed 183,400 183,800 183,800 183,600 183,500 183,500
Unemployed 8,400 8,300 8,200 8,200 8,200 8,200
Inactive 41,000 40,700 40,500 40,500 40,600 40,700
Est. population 232,800 232,700 232,600 232,400 232,300 232,300

 

Statistics

 

Further Information

For further information please contact 528 1284 , email kannanir@hagstofa.is

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