There were 203,400 persons aged from 16 to 74 in the labour force in March 2018, according to the Icelandic Labour Force Survey. Thereof, 197,800 persons were employed and 5,600 persons were unemployed. The activity rate was 81.4%, employment rate was 79.2% and unemployment rate was 2.8%.
Comparison between March 2017 and 2018 shows that though the labour force has increased by 600 the activity rate decreased by 3.5 percentage points. The number of people in employment, that decreased by 1,500 and the employment rate decreased by 4.3 percentage points. The number of unemployed increased by 2,200 and the unemployment rate increased by 1.1 point. Those inactive were 46,500 compared with 36,200 persons in March 2017. Please note that the estimate for March 2017 was rather unusual as the unemployment rate was very low and the employment rate was higher compared with the months before and after. This has to be kept in mind when comparing the estimates.
Flow Chart — Labour force 16–74 years — March 2018
Figures may not add up because of rounding. CI (95%) Unemployment rate: Total ±0.9; males ±1.4; females ±1.1
Seasonally adjusted unemployment 2.5% in March
The changes in the Icelandic labour market display a certain seasonal pattern, as can be seen in the figures below. The seasonally adjusted estimate of the number of people in the labour force was 204,800 in March 2018. This corresponds to an 82% activity rate which is one percentage point more than in February. The number of unemployed persons in March 2018 was estimated to be 5,200, an increase of 700 persons since February. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 2.5% in March compared with 2.2% in February. The seasonally adjusted employment rate was 79.9% in March and increased by 0.8 percentage points between months. The estimated number of inactive people decreased from 47,100 in February to 45,000 in March 2018, a decrease in inactive people by 2,100.
The trend for seasonally adjusted data in the last six months shows that activity-, employment-, unemployment rate and total working hours stayed the same.
Implementation
March 2018 is divided into five weeks, from 26th of February to 1st of April. The total sample size for the Labour Force Survey was 1,915 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 1,876 persons. In total, the number of answers was 1,258 which corresponds to 67.1% response rate. The results are weighted by sex and age groups. The confidence limit of the estimates on activity rate is ±2.1 percentage points, employment rate ±2.2 percentage points and unemployment rate ±0.9 percentage points, for March 2018. Figures may not add up because of rounding.
| Table 1. Labour market in March — Original | ||||||
| CI | CI | CI | ||||
| 2016 | (±95%) | 2017 | (±95%) | 2018 | (±95%) | |
| Total 16–74 years | ||||||
| Activity rate | 81.8 | 2.2 | 84.9 | 2.1 | 81.4 | 2.1 |
| Employment rate | 78.7 | 2.4 | 83.4 | 2.2 | 79.2 | 2.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.8 | 1.3 | 1.7 | 0.9 | 2.8 | 0.9 |
| Hours of work | 38.2 | 1.3 | 39.9 | 1.1 | 38.7 | 1 |
| Labour force | 191,000 | 5,200 | 202,800 | 5,000 | 203,400 | 5,200 |
| Employed | 183,800 | 5,600 | 199,300 | 5,300 | 197,800 | 5,400 |
| Unemployed | 7,200 | 2,500 | 3,400 | 1,900 | 5,600 | 1,900 |
| Inactive | 42,600 | 5,200 | 36,200 | 5,000 | 46,500 | 5,200 |
| Est. population | 233,600 | • | 239,000 | • | 249,800 | • |
| Table 2. Labour market last 6 months — seasonal adjustment | ||||||
| Oct-17 | Nov-17 | Dec-17 | Jan-18 | Feb-18 | Mar-18 | |
| Total 16–74 years | ||||||
| Activity rate | 82.6 | 81.9 | 82.8 | 83.1 | 81.0 | 82.0 |
| Employment rate | 79.7 | 79.8 | 80.0 | 80.4 | 79.1 | 79.9 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.5 | 2.5 | 3.4 | 3.2 | 2.2 | 2.5 |
| Hours of work | 39.9 | 39.5 | 39.9 | 39.9 | 39.6 | 40.1 |
| Labour force | 202,700 | 201,500 | 204,400 | 205,000 | 200,400 | 204,800 |
| Employed | 195,500 | 196,400 | 197,500 | 198,400 | 195,900 | 199,600 |
| Unemployed | 7,100 | 5,100 | 7,000 | 6,600 | 4,500 | 5,200 |
| Inactive | 42,800 | 44,600 | 42,400 | 41,800 | 47,100 | 45,000 |
| Est. population | 245,500 | 246,200 | 246,800 | 246,800 | 247,600 | 249,800 |
| Table 3. Labour market last 6 months — seasonal adjustment trend | ||||||
| Oct-17 | Nov-17 | Dec-17 | Jan-18 | Feb-18 | Mar-18 | |
| Total 16–74 years | ||||||
| Activity rate | 82.4 | 82.3 | 82.3 | 82.3 | 82.3 | 82.3 |
| Employment rate | 80.1 | 80.1 | 80.1 | 80.1 | 80.1 | 80.1 |
| Unemployment rate | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.6 | 2.6 |
| Hours of work | 39.7 | 39.7 | 39.8 | 39.8 | 39.8 | 39.8 |
| Labour force | 200,400 | 201,000 | 201,700 | 202,200 | 202,600 | 202,900 |
| Employed | 195,000 | 195,600 | 196,300 | 196,800 | 197,200 | 197,600 |
| Unemployed | 5,400 | 5,400 | 5,400 | 5,400 | 5,400 | 5,300 |
| Inactive | 42,900 | 43,100 | 43,300 | 43,400 | 43,600 | 43,700 |
| Est. population | 243,300 | 244,200 | 245,000 | 245,700 | 246,100 | 246,600 |