During the 12 month period from June 2016 to May 2017, the average total number of employers in Iceland was 17,113 and the average number of employees was 183,600. This is an increase of 742 (4.5%) employers and 8,600 (4.9%) employees compared to the period from June 2016 to May 2016.
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 1: Number of employers and employees in selected activities¹ | |||||
| Employers | Employees May | ||||
| May 2017 | 2016 | 2017 | Change | % | |
| All activities | 16,932 | 180,800 | 190,600 | 9,800 | 5 |
| Fisheries (NACE no. 031, 103) | 612 | 9,800 | 9,300 | -500 | -5 |
| Manufacturing except fish processing (NACE no. 10-33 except 102) | 1,035 | 17,300 | 17,500 | 300 | 2 |
| Construction (NACE no. 41-43) | 2,521 | 10,800 | 12,400 | 1,600 | 15 |
| Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (NACE no. 45-47) | 2,282 | 26,900 | 28,500 | 1,700 | 6 |
| Financial and insurance activities (NACE no. 64-66) | 378 | 6,500 | 6,600 | 100 | 2 |
| Public administration, compulsory social security and education (NACE no. 84-85) | 554 | 40,700 | 42,300 | 1,700 | 4 |
| Human health and social work activities (NACE no. 86-88) | 1,079 | 16,200 | 17,400 | 1,100 | 7 |
| Tourism industries (NACE no. 491, 4932, 4939, 501, 503, 511, 551-553, 561, 563, 771, 7721, 79) | 1,718 | 24,600 | 28,100 | 3,500 | 14 |
| High technology manufacturing and services (NACE no. 20, 254, 26-30, 325, 53, 58, 60-63, 72) | 867 | 13,100 | 13,300 | 200 | 2 |
| Creative industries (NACE no. 3212, 58-60, 6201-6202, 7021, 7111, 731, 741-743, 8552, 90, 9101-9102) | 1,491 | 9,300 | 9,400 | 0 | 0 |
| ¹ A detailed description of theese activities can be found in the metadata | |||||
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. For more information on how figures are revised and the magnitude of recent revisions, please refer to the metadata and the summary of revisions.
Statistics on employers and employees previously published have been revised, taking into account the latest available information on salaries and classification of employers based on their main economic activities.
The number of employers in April 2016 is now estimated as 16,951 and the total number of employees is estimated as 181,500. The number of employees increased by 9,000 (5.2%) from April 2016 to April 2017.
In June 2017, the number of employers and employees in April 2017 was estimated as 16.712 and 181.100, respectively. The number of employees had previously been estimated to have increased by 8,500 (4.9%) from April 2016 to April 2017.
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 Iceland conducts a labour force survey (LFS) continuously. The main results (e.g. unemployment) are published monthly and more detailed results (number of full time employees, working hours by industry etc.) are published annually. The labour force survey provides information about both self-employed, and only people who are permanently living in Iceland are included in the sample. Hence, it should be expected that the LFS-figures are not the same as published in this press release. Data on the number of employers and employees should be used mainly as short-time indicators and to provide information on the within-year variations.
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