During the 12 month period from October 2015 to September 2016, the average total number of employers in Iceland was 16,456 and the average number of employees was 177,600. This is an increase of 599 (3.8%) employers and 7,600 (4.5%) employees compared with the period from October 2014 to September 2015.
In September, there were almost 14,000 employers with fewer than 10 employees, and approximately 2,600 employers with 10 or more employees.
| Table 1: Number of employers and employees in September 2016 | |||
| Employers | Proportion of employers | Thousands of employees | |
| <5 employees | 12,120 | 72% | 19.6 |
| 5-9 employees | 2,065 | 12% | 13.4 |
| 10-49 employees | 2,117 | 13% | 41.9 |
| 50-100 employees | 306 | 2% | 21.0 |
| >100 employees | 309 | 2% | 106.4 |
| Total¹ | 16,917 | 100% | 189.2 |
¹ Since some employees work for more than one employer, the total number of employees is less than the sum of the groups
The number of employees in the tourism and construction sectors has increased considerably while there has been a decrease in the number of employees in fisheries, education and public administration..
In September 2016 there were 1,602 employers and 27,600 employees in industries related to tourism, which is an increase of 3.800 (17%) compared to September 2015. The number of employees in the construction sector and at temporary employment agencies over the same period has increased by 1.800 (20%). 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.
| Table 2: Number of employers and employees in selected activities | |||||
| Employers September 2016 | Employees (thousands) September 2016 | Employees (thousands) September 2015 | Employees (thousands) change | Employees, change | |
| Total economy | 16,347 | 181.2 | 174.9 | 6.3 | 4% |
| ¹Business sectors (NACE nr. 03-82, 95-96) | 12,751 | 125.7 | 118.2 | 7.5 | 6% |
| Fisheries (NACE nr. 031, 102) | 549 | 9.2 | 9.8 | -0.6 | -6% |
| Manufacturing except fish processing (NACE nr. 10-33 except 102) | 1,008 | 17.4 | 17 | 0.4 | 2% |
| Construction (NACE nr. 41-43) | 2,369 | 10.4 | 9.2 | 1.2 | 13% |
| Temporary employment agency activities (NACE nr. 782) | 12 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 0.6 | 511% |
| Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (NACE nr. 45-47) | 2,252 | 26.4 | 25.3 | 1.1 | 4% |
| Financial and insurance activities (NACE nr. 64-66) | 376 | 6.4 | 6.4 | -0.1 | -1% |
| Public administration, compulsory social security and education (NACE nr. 84-85) | 543 | 39.5 | 42.5 | -2.9 | -7% |
| Human health and social work activities (NACE nr. 86-88) | 1,056 | 16.1 | 15.9 | 0.2 | 1% |
| Tourism industries (total) (NACE nr. 491, 4932, 4939, 501, 503, 511, 551-553, 561, 563, 771, 7721, 79) | 1,602 | 25.9 | 22.1 | 3.8 | 17% |
| High technology manufacturing and services (NACE nr. 20, 254, 26-30, 325, 53, 58, 60-63, 72) | 849 | 12.5 | 12.4 | 0.2 | 1% |
| Creative industries (NACE nr. 3212, 58-60, 6201-6202, 7021, 7111, 731, 741-743, 8552, 90, 9101-9102)¹ | 1,486 | 9.2 | 9 | 0.1 | 1% |
¹ Since the latest press release, in October, the definitions of "business sectors" and "createive industries" have changed. Therefore, the numbers for these categories are not comparable with those in the October press
Sources of error and revision of statistics
The aforementioned 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 data are published, previous figures are revised.
Statistics on employers and employees. published 10 October, have been revised taking into account the latest available information on salaries and classification of employers into economic activities.
The number of employers in August 2016 is now estimated as 16,917 and the total number of employees is estimated as 189,200. The number of employees increased by 8,200 (5%) from August 2015 to August 2016. In the press release in October 2016, the number of employers and employees in August 2016 were estimated as 16.578 and 188,300 respectively. The number of employees were then estimated to have increased by 7,300 (4%) from August 2015 to August 2016.
Other statistics on business economy
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.
Statistics