During the 12 month period from December 2015 to November 2016, the average total number of employers in Iceland was 16,640 and the average number of employees was 179,500. This is an increase of 681 (4.3%) employers and 8,300 (4.9%) employees compared with the period from December 2014 to November 2015.
In November, a large majority of employers had less than 5 employees.
| Table 1: Number of employers and epmployees in November 2016 | |||
| Employers | |||
| Number | % | Employees | |
| Total¹ | 16,498 | 100 | 183,300 |
| <5 employees | 11,868 | 72 | 19,000 |
| 5-9 employees | 1,939 | 12 | 12,500 |
| 10-49 employees | 2,068 | 13 | 40,700 |
| 50-100 employees | 311 | 2 | 21,000 |
| >100 employees | 312 | 2 | 104,700 |
| ¹ Since some employees work for more than one employer, the total number of employees is less than the sum of the groups | |||
In November 2016 there were 2,413 employers and about 11,000 employees in the construction sector, which is an increase of 1.700 (18%) compared to November 2015. The total number of employees over the same period has increased by 10.300 (6%). 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 activities¹ | |||||
| Employers | |||||
| November | Employees November | ||||
| 2016 | 2015 | 2016 | Change | % | |
| All activities | 16,498 | 173,000 | 183,300 | 10,300 | 6 |
| Business sectors | 12,888 | 116,900 | 126,900 | 10,000 | 9 |
| Fisheries | 493 | 9,600 | 9,300 | -300 | -3 |
| Manufacturing except fish processing | 1,023 | 16,600 | 17,200 | 600 | 4 |
| Construction | 2,413 | 9,300 | 11,000 | 1,700 | 18 |
| Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles | 2,296 | 25,800 | 27,500 | 1,700 | 7 |
| Financial and insurance activities | 396 | 6,200 | 6,300 | 100 | 1 |
| Public administration, compulsory social security and education | 550 | 41,000 | 42,400 | 1,400 | 3 |
| Human health and social work activities | 1,074 | 16,400 | 15,700 | -600 | -4 |
| Tourism industries | 1,546 | 21,000 | 25,600 | 4,600 | 22 |
| High technology manufacturing and services | 871 | 12,500 | 12,500 | 100 | 1 |
| Creative industries | 1,504 | 9,200 | 9,300 | 100 | 1 |
| 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, please refer to the metadata.
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 economic activities.
The number of employers in October 2016 is now estimated as 16,804 and the total number of employees is estimated as 179,700. The number of employees increased by 9,300 (5%) from October 2015 to October 2016.
In the press release from December 2016, the number of employers and employees in October 2016 were estimated as 16.492 and 179,100 respectively. The number of employees were then estimated to have increased by 8,900 (5%) from October 2015 to October 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