In January 2026, there were 17,400 unemployed individuals aged 16 to 74 according to seasonally adjusted results from Icelandic Labour Force Survey. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 7.3%, the employment rate 75.7%, and the activity rate 81.6%. Seasonally adjusted unemployment increased by 2.8 percentage points between December and January, the employment rate decreased by 1.1 percentage points, and the activity rate increased by 1.1 percentage points.
According to the unadjusted measurements, unemployment was 8.3% in January 2026. The number of unemployed individuals was around 19,700. The employment rate was 74.5%, corresponding to just under 217,900 people, and the activity rate was 81.2%, or about 237,600 individuals in the labour force. Compared with the same month in 2025, measured unemployment increased by 3.1 percentage points, the employment rate fell by 3.3 percentage points, and the activity rate rose by 0.8 percentage points. The trend in the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate shows a similar pattern, having increased from 3.8% in January 2025 to 5.3% in January 2026.