The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in April 2022 was 2.5% according to results from the Icelandic Labour Force Survey. In comparison, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 8.6% in April 2021, and had decreased by 6.1 percentage points between years. The unemployment rate was similar for men and women, 2.8% among men and 2.2% among women. The unemployment among men decreased by 4.1 percentage points between years and decreased by 8.5 percentage points among women. The seasonally adjusted trend of unemployment has decreased by 3.0 percentage points over the past year while the trend of employment has increased by 3.9 percentage points.
Based on unadjusted measures from the Labour Force Survey, there were 211,000 (±7,700) individuals of the age of 16-74 years old active on the labour market in April 2022, which is equivalent to 78.5% (±2.9) activity rate. Of the labour force, 203,100 (±6,200) were employed and 7,900 (±2,700) unemployed and looking for work. The employment rate was estimated to be 75.6 (± 3.0) and the unemployment rate 3.7% (±1.3). The activity rate was approximately the same between years, compared with April 2021, while the employment rate increased by 5.7 percentage points. Employed individuals worked 32.6 (±1.3) hours on average per week in April 2022 which is 1.3 hours less than in April 2021.
Please note that the sum of sub-items might be inconsistent with the overall results due to rounding.
About the data
The Icelandic Labour Force Survey for April 2022 covers five weeks, from 3 April through 30 April. The sample consisted of 1,529 individuals, 16-74 years old with legal residence in Iceland. Excluding those from the sample who were living abroad or deceased, the net sample consisted of 1,511 individuals. Usable answers were obtained from 879 individuals which corresponds to a 58,2% response rate.