Unemployment rate 8.5%
In the 2nd quarter of 2011, 15,800 persons were unemployed and in search of a job or 8.5% of the labour force. The unemployment rate was 9.5% for men and 7.4% for women. The number of unemployed persons decreased by 400 since the 2nd quarter of 2010.

The unemployment rate was highest among persons aged 16-24 years old, or 18.6%. The rate was 6.4% for 24-54 years old and 5.4% for ages 55-74. The unemployment rate in the capital region is 10.2% and 5.3% in other regions.

Long-term unemployment increases
Of those who are unemployed in the 2nd quarter of 2011, 2,800 had been unemployed for 1-2 months or 18% of all unemployed compared with 2,900 (18.2%) in 2nd quarter of 2010.

In the 2nd quarter of 2011, the number of long-term unemployed (12 months or longer) was 3,900 or 24.7% of persons unemployed. The number has increased from 1,200 persons from 2.700 or 16.9% in the 2nd quarter of 2010.

Of those who are in the labour force in the 2nd quarter of 2011, 1.5% had been unemployed 1-2 months compared to 1.6% in 2010. Long-term unemployed were 2.1% of the labour force in the 2nd quarter 2011 compared to 1.5% in 2010.

Persons are classified as unemployed who have no employment, are actively seeking a job and could start working within two weeks or have found a job which starts within 3 months. Students who are not employed and fulfil this criteria are considered unemployed.   

The activity rate was 83%
The number of employed persons in the 2nd quarter of 2011 was 170.000 and had increased by 500 since the 2nd quarter of 2010. The number of persons in the labour force was 185,800, which corresponds to an activity rate of 83%. The activity rate for men was 85.6% and 80.3% for women. The labour force includes people of working age who are either employed or unemployed. People are classified as working (employed) if they worked one hour or more in the reference week or were absent from work they usually carry out.

In the 2nd quarter of 2010 the number of persons in the labour force was 185,700 and the activity rate was 83.3%. The activity rate of men was 86.9% and the activity rate of women was 79.5%.

Implementation of the Labour Force Survey
Since 2003 Statistics Iceland has conducted a continuous labour force survey with quarterly results. The 2nd quarter of 2011 covers 13 weeks, from 4th of April to 3rd of July. The total sample size was 3,894 persons aged 16–74 years old selected randomly from the National registry. When those who had passed away or those who were living abroad had been deducted from the sample the net sample was 3,829 persons. In total the number of usable answers was 3,124 which correspond to 81.6% response rate. All figures have been weighted by sex and age groups. The confidence limit of the results on activity rate is ±1.2%, unemployment rate is ±1% and working hours is ±0.7 hours.

Labour market statistics, 2nd quarter 2011 - Statistical Series