During the 12 month period from September 2015 to August 2016, the average total number of employers in Iceland was 16,386 and the average number of employees was 177 thousands. This is an increase of 585 (3.7%) employers and 7.5 thousand (4.4%) employees compared with the period from September 2014 to August 2015.
In August 2016 there were almost 14 thousand employers with fewer than 10 employees, and approximately 2.7 thousand employers with 10 or more employees.
The number of employees in the tourism and construction sector has increased considerably compared to a decrease in fisheries, education and public administration. In August 2016 there were 27,600 employees in tourism related industries, which is an increase of 3,800 (16%), compared to August 2015. The number of employees in the construction sector over the same period has increased by 1,500 (15%). It should be noted that these figures do not include information on the self-employed with calculated remuneration, a setup common in construction, agriculture and creative industries for example.
| Table 1: Number of employers and epmployees in August 2016 | |||
| Employers | Proportion of employers | Thousends of employees | |
| <5 employees | 11,831 | 71% | 19.2 |
| 5-9 employees | 2,034 | 12% | 13.2 |
| 10-49 employees | 2,101 | 13% | 41.6 |
| 50-100 employees | 303 | 2% | 20.9 |
| >100 employees | 309 | 2% | 106.4 |
| Total¹ | 16,578 | 100% | 188.3 |
¹ Since some employees work for more than one employer, the total number of employees is less than the sum of the groups.
| Table 2: Number of employers and employees in seected activities | |||||
| Employers | Employees (thousands) | ||||
| August 2016 | August 2015 | Change | (%) | ||
| Total economy | 16,578 | 188.3 | 181.1 | 7.3 | 4% |
| Total business economy (ÍSAT nr. 03-82, 90-96) | 12,512 | 128.6 | 120.9 | 7.7 | 6% |
| Fisheries (ÍSAT nr. 031, 102) | 693 | 9.8 | 10.3 | -0.5 | -5% |
| Production except fish processing (ÍSAT nr. 03-33 except 102) | 1,000 | 17.8 | 17.2 | 0.6 | 3% |
| Construction (ÍSAT nr. 41-43) | 2,372 | 11.1 | 9.6 | 1.5 | 16% |
| Wholesale, retail and repair of vehicles (ÍSAT nr. 45-47) | 2,238 | 26.5 | 25.5 | 1 | 4% |
| Finance (ÍSAT nr. 64-66) | 380 | 6.6 | 6.6 | 0 | 0% |
| Public administration, compulsory social security and education (ÍSAT nr. 84-85) | 543 | 42.6 | 43.7 | -1.1 | -3% |
| Human health and social work activities (ÍSAT nr. 86-88) | 1,047 | 16.4 | 16.3 | 0.1 | 1% |
| Tourism industries (ÍSAT nr. 491, 4932, 4939, 501, 503, 511, 551-553, 561, 563, 771, 7721, 79) | 1,672 | 27.6 | 23.8 | 3.8 | 16% |
| High technology manufacturing and services (ÍSAT nr. 20, 254, 26-30, 325, 53, 58, 60-63, 72) | 847 | 12.8 | 12.7 | 0.1 | 1% |
| Creative industries (ÍSAT nr. 58, 5914, 592, 60, 6201-6202, 742-743, 8552, 90, 9101-9102) | 911 | 7.4 | 7.4 | 0 | 0% |
Publication
This is a new publication of data on the number of employers and their employees which will be updated monthly henceforth. The statistics are based on income data with employers classified by NACE according to the Statistics Iceland Business register.
Sources of errors and revision of statistics
Figures are preliminary. Having income data as the source there is a chance of underestimating the latest figures when employers do not submit their information in a timely manner. Other causes of error include reimbursement to former employees.
When new numbers are published, previous figures will be revised.
Statistics Iceland publishes annual Income and balance statements of enterprises by activity, based on tax returns, providing a detailed picture of the individual sectors. The latest income statement and balance sheet.