There were 212,900 persons aged from 16 to 74 in the labour force in July 2018, according to the Icelandic Labour Force Survey. Thereof, 207,600 persons were employed and 5,300 persons were unemployed. The activity rate was 82.2%, employment rate was 81.5% and unemployment rate was 2.5%.
Comparison between July 2017 and 2018 shows that while the labour force increased by 11,300, the activity rate decreased by 0.7 percentage points. The number of people in employment increased by 8,100 although the share of people employed of the estimated population decreased by 0.6 percentage points.
The number of unemployed increased by 3,200 since July 2017. It is worth noting that the numbers for July 2017 was unusually low for the Icelandic labour force survey, with only 2,100 unemployed. Those who were considered inactive in July 2018 were 39,700 compared with 39,500 persons in July 2017.
Flow Chart — Labour force 16–74 years — July 2018
Figures June not add up because of rounding. CI (95%) Unemployment rate: Total ±1.1; males ±1.2; females ±1.9.
Seasonally adjusted unemployment was 3.7% in July 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 206,400 in July 2018. This corresponds to an 81.9% activity rate which is a 0.9 percentage point increase from the activity rate in June. The seasonally adjusted number of unemployed persons in July 2018 was estimated to be 7,700 or 3.7%. The seasonally adjusted employment rate was 78.8% in July 2018, which is a 0.7 percentage point increase since June.
As the charts below show, the trend of recent months is nearly unchanged although some fluctuations in the measurement of labor. Nevertheless it can be said that the Icelandic labor numbers are fairly stable.
Implementation
July 2018 is divided into four weeks, from 2nd to 29th of July. The total sample size for the Labour Force Survey was 1,549 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 1,521 persons. In total, the number of answers was 1,001 corresponding to 65.8% response rate.
The results are weighted by sex and age groups. The confidence limit of the estimates on activity rate is ±2.2 percentage points, employment rate ±2.3 percentage points and unemployment rate ±1.1 percentage point, for July 2018. Figures June not add up because of rounding. It should be noted that all numbers for the first two months in every quarter of the year are preliminary until the end of the quarter.
| Table 1. Labour market in July — Original | ||||||
| CI | CI | CI | ||||
| 2016 | (±95%) | 2017 | (±95%) | 2018 | (±95%) | |
| Total 16–74 years | ||||||
| Activity rate | 85.8 | 2 | 83.6 | 2,1 | 84.3 | 2,2 |
| Employment rate | 84.0 | 2,2 | 82.7 | 2,2 | 82.2 | 2,3 |
| Unemployment rate | 2.0 | 1 | 1.0 | 1,1 | 2.5 | 1,3 |
| Hours of work | 42.5 | 1,3 | 41.7 | 1,2 | 42.6 | 1,1 |
| Labour force | 202,000 | 4,800 | 201,600 | 5,000 | 212,900 | 5,400 |
| Employed | 197,900 | 5,100 | 199,500 | 5,400 | 207,600 | 5,900 |
| Unemployed | 4,100 | 2,000 | 2,100 | 2,200 | 5,300 | 2,700 |
| Inactive | 33,500 | 4,800 | 39,500 | 5,000 | 39,700 | 5,400 |
| Est. population | 235,500 | • | 241,100 | • | 252,600 | • |
| Table 2. Labour market last 6 months — seasonal adjustment | ||||||
| Feb-18 | Mar-18 | Apr-18 | May-18 | Jun-18 | Jul-18 | |
| Total 16–74 years | ||||||
| Activity rate | 80.9 | 82.2 | 82.3 | 81.0 | 80.9 | 81.9 |
| Employment rate | 78.9 | 80.4 | 79.3 | 79.7 | 78.1 | 78.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 2.5 | 2.2 | 3.6 | 1.6 | 3.5 | 3.7 |
| Hours of work | 39.3 | 40.0 | 40.6 | 38.7 | 39.5 | 40.0 |
| Labour force | 200,500 | 204,600 | 202,800 | 201,000 | 201,500 | 206,400 |
| Employed | 195,500 | 200,200 | 195,500 | 197,700 | 194,400 | 198,700 |
| Unemployed | 5,000 | 4,500 | 7,300 | 3,300 | 7,100 | 7,700 |
| Inactive | 47,200 | 44,500 | 43,600 | 47,100 | 47,400 | 45,700 |
| Est. population | 247,700 | 249,100 | 246,400 | 248,100 | 248,900 | 252,100 |
| Table 3. Labour market last 6 months — seasonal adjustment trend | ||||||
| Feb-18 | Mar-18 | Apr-18 | May-18 | Jun-18 | Jul-18 | |
| Total 16–74 years | ||||||
| Activity rate | 82.1 | 82.1 | 82.0 | 82.0 | 81.9 | 81.9 |
| Employment rate | 79.8 | 79.8 | 79.8 | 79.7 | 79.7 | 79.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 2.8 | 2.8 | 2.8 | 2.8 | 2.8 | 2.8 |
| Hours of work | 39.9 | 39.9 | 39.9 | 39.9 | 39.9 | 39.9 |
| Labour force | 202,200 | 202,200 | 202,400 | 202,600 | 202,800 | 203,100 |
| Employed | 196,600 | 196,600 | 196,800 | 197,000 | 197,200 | 197,500 |
| Unemployed | 5,600 | 5,600 | 5,600 | 5,600 | 5,600 | 5,600 |
| Inactive | 44,200 | 44,200 | 44,300 | 44,500 | 44,700 | 44,800 |
| Est. population | 246,400 | 246,400 | 246,800 | 247,100 | 247,500 | 247,900 |