During the 12 month period from November 2015 to October 2016, the average total number of employers in Iceland was 16,559 and the average number of employees was 178,500. This is an increase of 663 (4.2%) employers and 8,100 (4.7%) employees compared with the period from November 2014 to October 2015.
In October, there were approximately 14,000 employers with fewer than 10 employees, and approximately 2,600 employers with 10 or more employees.
| Table 1: Number of employers and epmployees in October 2016 | |||
| Employers | |||
| Number | % | Employees | |
| Total¹ | 16,492 | 100.0 | 179,100 |
| <5 employees | 11,992 | 73.0 | 19,300 |
| 5-9 employees | 1,944 | 12.0 | 12,600 |
| 10-49 employees | 1,984 | 12.0 | 40,000 |
| 50-100 employees | 286 | 2.0 | 19,500 |
| >100 employees | 299 | 2.0 | 99,600 |
| 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.
In October 2016 there were 1,538 employers and 24,600 employees in industries related to tourism, which is an increase of 3.900 (19%) compared to October 2015. The number of employees in the construction sector over the same period has increased by 1.600 (17%). 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 | |||||
| October | Employees October | ||||
| 2016 | 2015 | 2016 | Change | % | |
| Total | 16,492 | 170,200 | 179,100 | 8,900 | 5.0 |
| Business sectors | 12,878 | 115,700 | 124,000 | 8,300 | 7.0 |
| Fisheries | 508 | 9,600 | 9,000 | -600 | -6.0 |
| Manufacturing except fish processing | 1,020 | 16,700 | 17,100 | 500 | 3.0 |
| Construction | 2,408 | 9,200 | 10,800 | 1,600 | 17.0 |
| Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles | 2,277 | 24,900 | 26,000 | 1,100 | 4.0 |
| Financial and insurance activities | 381 | 6,200 | 6,200 | 0 | 0.0 |
| Public administration, compulsory social security and education | 554 | 39,100 | 39,200 | 100 | 0.0 |
| Human health and social work activities | 1,059 | 15,100 | 15,900 | 800 | 5.0 |
| Tourism industries (total) | 1,583 | 20,800 | 24,600 | 3,900 | 19.0 |
| High technology manufacturing and services | 868 | 12,200 | 12,400 | 100 | 1.0 |
| Creative industries | 1,500 | 9,000 | 9,200 | 200 | 2.0 |
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 November, have been revised, taking into account the latest available information on salaries and classification of employers based on economic activities.
The number of employers in September 2016 is now estimated as 16,820 and the total number of employees is estimated as 182,500. The number of employees increased by 7,600 (4%) from September 2015 to September 2016. In the press release in November 2016, the number of employers and employees in September 2016 were estimated as 16.5347 and 181,200 respectively. The number of employees were then estimated to have increased by 6,300 (4%) from September 2015 to September 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