Of the 383 companies what were made insolvent in 2022, 148 were active in the previous year, which is a 29% decrease from 2021 when they were 208. Thereof, there were 48 insolvencies in Construction (21% decrease), 20 in Wholesale and retail trade and vehicle repair (41% decrease), 22 in Tourism industries (39% decrease) and 58 in other industries (25% decrease).
On average, there were 836 employees in the previous year in companies made insolvent in 2022, which is a 35% decrease from 2021, when they were 1,289. There was a decreased effect of insolvencies in 2022 in all activities, judging from the number of employees in the previous year.
There were 45 corporate insolvencies registered in December 2022. Thereof, 21 were for companies that were active in the previous year, i.e. they either had registered employees according to the official PAYE tax registry or turnover according to VAT reports. This is a 50% increase from December 2021.
On average, there were 447 employees in the previous year in companies made insolvent in the fourth quarter of 2022, which is just over a twofold increase from the fourth quarter of 2021, when they were 205. There was an increased effect of insolvencies in the fourth quarter of 2022 in all activities, judging from the number of employees in the previous year, except for wholesale and retail trade, where it was at a comparable level.
Statistics Iceland publishes monthly updates on insolvencies of registered companies, typically within 30 days of the end of the month. The data on bankruptcy and prior company activity is collected according to the ISAT2008 industry classification system for construction, wholesale and retail, and vehicle repair industries, and Tourism industries are classified according to Eurostat definitions, with the addition of classifications H52.32 and S96.04. The number of insolvencies for the latest month are temporary estimates and are subject to change with increased information on insolvency registrations from judicial authorities.