According to the Icelandic Labour Force Survey the number of persons in the labour force in October 2016 was 197,600. Of those in the labour force 192,200 persons were employed and 5,400 persons were unemployed. The activity rate was 82.5%, the employment rate was 80.2% and the unemployment rate was 2.7%. Comparison between October 2015 and 2016 shows increase in activity by 1.7 percentage points of the total population. Number of employed increased by 12,900 persons and the rate went up by 2.6 points. Number of unemployed decreased by 1,700 persons and the unemployment rate went down by 0.7 points.
Figure 1. Labour force October 2016
Figures may not add up because of rounding.
Seasonally adjusted unemployment was 2.9% in October
The changes in the Icelandic labour market display a certain pattern as regards seasonality, as can be seen in the figures below. The seasonally adjusted data show that in October 2016 the number of people in the labour force was 199,600, corresponding to 83.2% activity rate which is 0.8 percentage points lower than in September. The number of unemployed persons, in October 2016, is estimated around 5,800 and has decreased by 600 since September. The unemployment rate was 2.9% in October compared to 3.2% in September. According to the seasonal adjustment the employment rate was 80.8% in October. The trend for seasonally adjusted data in the last six months shows that the unemployment rate has stayed the same, but in the last 12 months it has decreased by 0.6 points. The employment rate has increased by 0.5 points in the last six months and by 1.4 points in the last 12 months.
Implementation
October 2016 is divided into four weeks, from 3rd to 30th of October. The total sample size was 1,214 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 1,166 persons. In total the number of usable answers was 873 which correspond to 74.9% response rate. All figures have been weighted by sex and age groups. The confidence limit of the results on activity rate is ±2.5 points, employment rate is ±2.6 points and unemployment rate is ±1.2 points. Figures may not add up because of rounding. 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 Október - Original | ||||||
| CI | CI | CI | ||||
| 2014 | (±95%) | 2015 | (±95%) | 2016 | (±95%) | |
| Total 16-74 years | ||||||
| Activity rate | 81.9 | 2.1 | 80.7 | 2.3 | 82.5 | 2.5 |
| Employment rate | 77.8 | 2.3 | 77.7 | 2.4 | 80.2 | 2.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.0 | 1.4 | 3.8 | 1.3 | 2.7 | 1.2 |
| Hours of work | 39.8 | 1.1 | 40.9 | 1.2 | 40.2 | 1.3 |
| Labour force | 188,000 | 4,900 | 186,500 | 5,400 | 197,600 | 6,000 |
| Employed | 178,600 | 5,400 | 179,300 | 5,700 | 192,200 | 6,300 |
| Unemployed | 9,500 | 2,700 | 7,100 | 2,400 | 5,400 | 2,400 |
| Inactive | 41,600 | 4,900 | 44,500 | 5,400 | 42,000 | 6,000 |
| Est. population | 229,600 | • | 230,900 | • | 239,600 | • |
| Table 2. Labour market last 6 months - Seasonal adjustment | ||||||
| May-16 | Jun-16 | Jul-16 | Aug-16 | Sep-16 | Oct-16 | |
| Total 16-74 years | ||||||
| Activity rate | 83.7 | 83.3 | 83.1 | 84.2 | 83.9 | 83.2 |
| Employment rate | 82.0 | 81.2 | 80.7 | 81.6 | 81.2 | 80.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 2.1 | 2.5 | 2.9 | 3.1 | 3.2 | 2.9 |
| Hours of work | 40.3 | 39.8 | 39.8 | 39.7 | 40.4 | 40.1 |
| Labour force | 195,300 | 193,200 | 195,300 | 197,400 | 198,700 | 199,600 |
| Employed | 191,200 | 188,400 | 189,600 | 191,400 | 192,200 | 193,800 |
| Unemployed | 4,100 | 4,800 | 5,700 | 6,100 | 6,400 | 5,800 |
| Inactive | 38,000 | 38,900 | 39,700 | 37,100 | 38,000 | 40,400 |
| Est. population | 233,300 | 232,100 | 235,000 | 234,500 | 236,700 | 240,000 |
| Table 3. Labour market last 6 months - Seasonal adjustment trend | ||||||
| May-16 | Jun-16 | Jul-16 | Aug-16 | Sep-16 | Oct-16 | |
| Total 16-74 years | ||||||
| Activity rate | 83.3 | 83.4 | 83.6 | 83.7 | 83.7 | 83.8 |
| Employment rate | 80.8 | 81.0 | 81.1 | 81.2 | 81.3 | 81.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.0 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 2.9 |
| Hours of work | 40.2 | 40.1 | 40.0 | 40.0 | 40.1 | 40.1 |
| Labour force | 195,300 | 195,800 | 196,500 | 197,300 | 198,000 | 198,600 |
| Employed | 189,500 | 190,100 | 190,700 | 191,500 | 192,300 | 192,900 |
| Unemployed | 5,800 | 5,700 | 5,800 | 5,800 | 5,800 | 5,700 |
| Inactive | 39,300 | 38,900 | 38,700 | 38,500 | 38,500 | 38,500 |
| Est. population | 234,600 | 234,800 | 235,200 | 235,800 | 236,600 | 237,100 |