According to the Icelandic Labour Force Survey the number of persons in the labour force in July 2016 was 205,400. Of those in the labour force 201,100 persons were employed and 4,300 persons were unemployed. The activity rate was 86.2%, the employment rate was 84.4% and the unemployment rate was 2.1%. Comparison between July 2015 and 2016 shows increase in activity by 1.9 percentage points of the total population. Number of employed increased by 11,600 persons and the rate went up by 2.6 points. Number of unemployed decreased by 1,600 persons and the unemployment rate went down by 0.9 points. Unemployment has not been this low, in the month of July, since the year 2007 when it was measured at 1.8%.
Labour force July 2016
Figures may not add up because of rounding.
Seasonally adjusted unemployment was 2.9% in July
The changes in the Icelandic labour market display a certain pattern as regards to seasonality, as can be seen in the figures below. The seasonally adjusted data show that in July 2016 the number of people in the labour force was 197,400 corresponding to 83% activity rate. The number of unemployed persons, in July 2016, amounted to 5,700 and had increased by 900 since June. The unemployment rate was 2.9% in July compared to 2.5% in June. According to the seasonal adjustment the employment rate was 80.6% in July. Between June and July, the employment rate stayed relatively the same and the unemployment rate increased by 0.4 points. The trend for seasonally adjusted data in the last six months shows that the unemployment rate has decreased by 0.3 percentage points and by 1.1 point for the last 12 months. The employment rate has increased by 0.4 points in the last six months and by 0.6 points in the last 12 months.
Implementation
July 2016 is divided into four weeks, from the 4th to the 31st of July. The total sample size was 1,218 persons, 16–74 years, randomly chosen from the Population Register. When those who had passed away and those who were living abroad had been deducted from the sample the net sample was 1,191 persons. In total the number of usable answers was 852 which correspond to 71.5% response rate. All figures have been weighted by sex and age groups. The confidence limit of the results on activity rate is ±2.2 points, employment rate is ±2.4 points and unemployment rate is ±1.1 point. Figures may not add up because of rounding.
| Table 1. Labour market in July - Original | ||||||
| CI | CI | CI | ||||
| 2014 | (±95%) | 2015 | (±95%) | 2016 | (±95%) | |
| Total 16-74 years | ||||||
| Activity rate | 85.0 | 2 | 84.3 | 2 | 86.2 | 2,2 |
| Employment rate | 82.2 | 2,1 | 81.8 | 2,2 | 84.4 | 2,4 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.3 | 1,1 | 3.0 | 1,1 | 2.1 | 1,1 |
| Hours of work | 42.0 | 1,2 | 43.0 | 1,3 | 42.5 | 1,5 |
| Labour force | 196,000 | 4,500 | 195,400 | 4,800 | 205,400 | 5,300 |
| Employed | 189,600 | 4,900 | 189,500 | 5,100 | 201,100 | 5,600 |
| Unemployed | 6,400 | 2,200 | 5,900 | 2,200 | 4,300 | 2,200 |
| Inactive | 34,700 | 4,500 | 36,300 | 4,800 | 32,800 | 5,300 |
| Est. population | 230,600 | • | 231,700 | • | 238,200 | • |
| Table 2. Labour market last 6 months - Seasonal adjustment | ||||||
| Feb-16 | Mar-16 | Apr-16 | May-16 | Jun-16 | Jul-16 | |
| Total 16-74 years | ||||||
| Activity rate | 82.8 | 83.2 | 84.0 | 83.6 | 82.7 | 83.0 |
| Employment rate | 80.2 | 80.5 | 81.1 | 81.8 | 80.7 | 80.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.2 | 3.2 | 3.5 | 2.1 | 2.5 | 2.9 |
| Hours of work | 40.2 | 40.3 | 40.3 | 40.2 | 39.9 | 39.7 |
| Labour force | 193,400 | 193,800 | 197,000 | 195,700 | 193,100 | 197,400 |
| Employed | 187,300 | 187,500 | 190,000 | 191,600 | 188,400 | 191,700 |
| Unemployed | 6,100 | 6,300 | 7,000 | 4,100 | 4,800 | 5,700 |
| Inactive | 40,100 | 39,000 | 37,400 | 38,500 | 40,300 | 40,300 |
| Est. population | 233,600 | 232,900 | 234,400 | 234,200 | 233,400 | 237,700 |
| Table 3. Labour market last 6 months - Seasonal adjustment trend | ||||||
| Feb-16 | Mar-16 | Apr-16 | May-16 | Jun-16 | Jul-16 | |
| Total 16-74 years | ||||||
| Activity rate | 82.8 | 82.9 | 83.1 | 83.2 | 83.4 | 83.5 |
| Employment rate | 80.3 | 80.4 | 80.6 | 80.8 | 81.0 | 81.1 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.1 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 2.9 | 2.8 | 2.8 |
| Hours of work | 40.3 | 40.3 | 40.2 | 40.1 | 40.0 | 39.9 |
| Labour force | 194,200 | 194,500 | 195,000 | 195,500 | 195,900 | 196,300 |
| Employed | 188,200 | 188,700 | 189,300 | 189,900 | 190,300 | 190,700 |
| Unemployed | 6,000 | 5,900 | 5,800 | 5,600 | 5,600 | 5,500 |
| Inactive | 40,300 | 40,100 | 39,800 | 39,400 | 39,100 | 38,900 |
| Est. population | 234,500 | 234,700 | 234,800 | 234,900 | 235,000 | 235,100 |