There were 205,200 persons aged from 16 to 74 in the labour force in April 2018, according to the Icelandic Labour Force Survey. Thereof, 196,000 persons were employed and 9,200 persons were unemployed. The activity rate was 81.9%, employment rate was 78.3% and unemployment rate was 4.5%.
Comparison between April 2017 and 2018 shows that while the labour force increased by 6,700, the activity rate decreased by 1.1 percentage points. The number of people in employment increased by 3,400 although the share of people employed of the estimated population decreased by 2.3 percentage points.
The number of unemployed increased by 3,300 since April 2017, with an increase in the unemployment rate by 1.5 percentage points. Those who are considered inactive were 45,300 compared with 40,500 persons in April 2017.
It should be noted that the estimate for April 2017 was rather unusual as the unemployment rate was very low and the employment rate was higher than in other months in the first half of the year 2017. This has to be kept in mind when comparing the estimates.
Flow Chart — Labour force 16–74 years — April 2018
Figures may not add up because of rounding. CI (95%) Unemployment rate: Total ±1.6; males ±2.2; females ±2.3.
Seasonally adjusted unemployment was 3.5% in April 2018
Changes in the Icelandic labour market display a seasonal pattern, as can be seen in the figures below. The seasonally adjusted estimate of the number of people in the labour force was 205,800 in April 2018. This corresponds to an 82.3% activity rate which is 0.3 percentage point more than in March. The number of unemployed persons in April 2018 was estimated to be 7,200, an increase of 1,900 persons since March.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.5% in April 2018 compared with 2.6% in March, an increase by 0.9 percentage point between months.
The seasonally adjusted employment rate was 79.4% in April 2018, which is a 0.5 percentage point decrease since March. The estimated number of inactive people decreased by 700, from 44,900 in March to 44,200 in April 2018.
The trend for seasonally adjusted data in the last six months shows that activity, employment and unemployment rates as well as total working hours stayed the same.
Implementation
April 2018 is divided into four weeks, from 2nd of April to 28th of April. The total sample size for the Labour Force Survey was 1,553 persons, 16–74 years old, selected randomly from the registered population. When individuals out of scope had been removed from the sample, the net sample was 1,520 persons. In total, the number of answers was 964 corresponding to 63.4% response rate.
The results are weighted by sex and age groups. The confidence limit of the estimates on activity rate is ±2.3 percentage points, employment rate ±2.6 percentage points and unemployment rate ±1.6 percentage points, for April 2018. Figures may not add up because of rounding.
| Table 1. Labour market in April — Original | ||||||
| CI | CI | CI | ||||
| 2016 | (±95%) | 2017 | (±95%) | 2018 | (±95%) | |
| Total 16–74 years | ||||||
| Activity rate | 83.8 | 2.3 | 83.0 | 2.6 | 81.9 | 2.3 |
| Employment rate | 79.7 | 2.6 | 80.6 | 2.7 | 78.3 | 2.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.8 | 1.6 | 3.0 | 1.4 | 4.5 | 1.6 |
| Hours of work | 39.6 | 1.3 | 38.3 | 1.5 | 39.6 | 1.2 |
| Labour force | 195,800 | 5,500 | 198,500 | 6,200 | 205,200 | 5,800 |
| Employed | 186,300 | 6,100 | 192,600 | 6,600 | 196,000 | 6,400 |
| Unemployed | 9,500 | 3,200 | 5,900 | 2,800 | 9,200 | 3,200 |
| Inactive | 37,900 | 5,500 | 40,500 | 6,200 | 45,300 | 5,800 |
| Est. population | 233,700 | • | 239,000 | • | 250,500 | • |
| Table 2. Labour market last 6 months — seasonal adjustment | ||||||
| Nov-17 | Dec-17 | Jan-18 | Feb-18 | Mar-18 | Apr-18 | |
| Total 16–74 years | ||||||
| Activity rate | 81.9 | 82.8 | 83.1 | 81.0 | 82.0 | 82.3 |
| Employment rate | 79.8 | 80.0 | 80.4 | 79.1 | 79.9 | 79.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 2.5 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 2.3 | 2.6 | 3.5 |
| Hours of work | 39.1 | 40.1 | 40.0 | 39.4 | 40.0 | 40.5 |
| Labour force | 201,600 | 204,300 | 205,200 | 200,600 | 204,900 | 205,800 |
| Employed | 196,500 | 197,400 | 198,500 | 196,000 | 199,600 | 198,600 |
| Unemployed | 5,100 | 6,900 | 6,700 | 4,600 | 5,300 | 7,200 |
| Inactive | 44,700 | 42,400 | 41,800 | 47,100 | 44,900 | 44,200 |
| Est. population | 246,300 | 246,600 | 247,000 | 247,700 | 249,800 | 250,000 |
| Table 3. Labour market last 6 months — seasonal adjustment trend | ||||||
| Nov-17 | Dec-17 | Jan-18 | Feb-18 | Mar-18 | Apr-18 | |
| Total 16–74 years | ||||||
| Activity rate | 82.2 | 82.2 | 82.3 | 82.3 | 82.3 | 82.3 |
| Employment rate | 79.9 | 79.9 | 79.9 | 79.9 | 79.9 | 79.9 |
| Unemployment rate | 2.9 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 2.9 |
| Hours of work | 40.0 | 40.0 | 40.0 | 40.0 | 40.0 | 40.0 |
| Labour force | 201,500 | 202,200 | 202,800 | 203,200 | 203,200 | 203,600 |
| Employed | 195,700 | 196,300 | 196,900 | 197,300 | 197,300 | 197,700 |
| Unemployed | 5,800 | 5,900 | 5,900 | 5,900 | 5,900 | 5,900 |
| Inactive | 43,600 | 43,600 | 43,700 | 43,800 | 43,800 | 43,900 |
| Est. population | 245,000 | 245,800 | 246,500 | 247,000 | 247,000 | 247,500 |