Of the 149 companies what were made insolvent in the third quarter (Q3) of 2021, 39 were active in the previous year, which is a 36% decrease from the same quarter in 2020 when they were 61. Thereof, there were 10 insolvencies in construction (44% decrease), 12 in wholesale and retail trade and vehicle repair (71% increase), 7 in tourism industries (56% decrease) and 10 in other industries (50% decrease).
On average, there were 208 employees in the previous year in companies made insolvent in the third quarter of 2021, which is a 59% decrease from the third quarter of 2020, when they were 503. The number of employees in the previous year of insolvent companies in Wholesale and retail trade and vehicle repair was 32, which was threefold increase from Q3 in 2020 (11). Otherwise, there was a decreased effect of insolvencies in the third quarter of 2021 in all activities, judging from the number of employees in the previous year.
There were 99 corporate insolvencies registered in September 2021. Thereof, 27 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 7% decrease from September 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.