Of the 375 companies what were made insolvent in the second quarter (Q2) of 2021, 60 were active in the previous year, which is a 54% decrease from the same quarter in 2021 when they were 131. Thereof, there were 23 insolvencies in construction (28% decrease), 5 in wholesale and retail trade and vehicle repair (75% decrease), 8 in tourism industries (80% decrease) and 24 in other industries (37% decrease).
On average, there were 494 employees in the previous year in companies made insolvent in the second quarter of 2021, which is a 54% decrease from the second quarter of 2020, when they were 1085. Judging from the number of employees in the previous year, there was a decreased effect of insolvencies in the second quarter of 2021 in all activities. For instance, the average number of employees in the previous year in construction was 275, which is a 35% decrease from the same period in 2020. In tourism industries, the respective number was 11, a 76% decrease.
There were 146 corporate insolvencies registered in June 2021. Thereof, 22 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 55% decrease from June 2020.
Statistics Iceland publishes monthly updates on insolvencies of registered companies. 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.