Estimates from the Icelandic Labour Force Survey show that 201,600 persons aged 16 to 74 years of age belonged to the labour force in December 2018, - setting the activity rate at 79.6% (±2.5). Thereof, 198,800 (±6,500) persons were employed and 2,800 (±1,800) persons were unemployed. The proportion of the population who were employed was 78.5% (±2.6), while the proportion of unemployed persons of those who are active was 1.4% (±0.9).
Comparison between December 2017 and 2018 shows that the number of people active in the labour force decreased slightly, or by 100 persons and that its proportion of the population decreased 2.2 percentage points. The number of employed persons increased by 3,200, while its proportion of the population decreased by 0.8 percentage points. The number of those who are unemployed decreased by 3,300 in December 2018 compared to the December 2017 when they were 6,100 or 3.0% of the labour force. In total, there were 51,700 inactive persons in the population in December 2018, which is an increase from December 2017 when they were 44,900.
Figures may not add up because of rounding. CI (95%) Unemployment rate: Total ±0.9; males ±1.3; females ±1.2.
Seasonally adjusted unemployment was 3.6% in December 2018
Changes in the Icelandic labour market display a seasonal pattern as can be seen in the accompanying figures. The seasonally adjusted estimate of the number of people in the labour force was 203,800 in December 2018. This corresponds to an 80.6% activity rate which is 1.6 percentage points lower than in November. The seasonally adjusted number of unemployed persons in December 2018 was estimated to be 3,400 or 1.7%, a decrease by 0.1 percentage points from November. The seasonally adjusted employment rate was 79.2% in December 2018, which is a 0.1 percentage points decrease since November. The trend for seasonally adjusted data in the last 12 months shows that activity rate decreased by 0.3 percentage points, while employment rate increased by 0.1 percentage points, and the rate of unemployment decreased by 0.5 percentage points.
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| Table 1. Labour market in December — Original | ||||||
| CI | CI | CI | ||||
| 2016 | (±95%) | 2017 | (±95%) | 2018 | (±95%) | |
| Total 16–74 years | ||||||
| Activity rate | 83.0 | 2,2 | 81.8 | 2,6 | 79.6 | 2,5 |
| Employment rate | 80.8 | 2,3 | 79.3 | 2,8 | 78.5 | 2,6 |
| Unemployment rate | 2.6 | 1,1 | 3.0 | 1,4 | 1.4 | 0,9 |
| Hours of work | 37.7 | 1,2 | 37.6 | 1,5 | 36.2 | 1,3 |
| Labour force | 197,000 | 5,100 | 201,700 | 6,400 | 201,600 | 6,300 |
| Employed | 191,900 | 5,500 | 195,600 | 6,800 | 198,800 | 6,500 |
| Unemployed | 5,100 | 2,200 | 6,100 | 2,900 | 2,800 | 1,800 |
| Inactive | 40,400 | 5,100 | 44,900 | 6,400 | 51,700 | 6,300 |
| Est. population | 237,300 | . | 246,600 | . | 253,300 | . |
| Table 2. Labour market last 6 months — seasonal adjustment | ||||||
| Jul-18 | Aug-18 | Sep-18 | Oct-18 | Nov-18 | Dec-18 | |
| Total 16–74 years | ||||||
| Activity rate | 81.6 | 81.6 | 81.6 | 81.7 | 82.2 | 80.6 |
| Employment rate | 78.7 | 79.5 | 80.2 | 79.3 | 79.3 | 79.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.6 | 2.6 | 1.7 | 3.1 | 3.5 | 1.7 |
| Hours of work | 39.8 | 40.9 | 38.6 | 39.7 | 38.8 | 38.9 |
| Labour force | 204,400 | 204,300 | 204,900 | 206,600 | 208,600 | 203,800 |
| Employed | 197,100 | 198,900 | 201,300 | 200,300 | 201,200 | 200,400 |
| Unemployed | 7,300 | 5,400 | 3,600 | 6,300 | 7,400 | 3,400 |
| Inactive | 46,000 | 45,900 | 46,200 | 46,100 | 45,000 | 49,100 |
| Est. population | 250,400 | 250,300 | 251,100 | 252,800 | 253,600 | 252,900 |
| Table 3. Labour market last 6 months — seasonal adjustment trend | ||||||
| Jul-18 | Aug-18 | Sep-18 | Oct-18 | Nov-18 | Dec-18 | |
| Total 16–74 years | ||||||
| Activity rate | 81.8 | 81.8 | 81.8 | 81.8 | 81.7 | 81.7 |
| Employment rate | 79.5 | 79.6 | 79.6 | 79.6 | 79.6 | 79.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 2.5 |
| Hours of work | 39.8 | 39.8 | 39.6 | 39.4 | 39.4 | 39.4 |
| Labour force | 203,900 | 204,300 | 204,800 | 205,200 | 205,500 | 205,700 |
| Employed | 198,300 | 198,800 | 199,400 | 199,900 | 200,200 | 200,500 |
| Unemployed | 5,600 | 5,500 | 5,400 | 5,300 | 5,300 | 5,200 |
| Inactive | 45,500 | 45,600 | 45,700 | 45,800 | 45,900 | 46,000 |
| Est. population | 249,400 | 249,900 | 250,500 | 251,000 | 251,400 | 251,700 |
December 2018 is divided into four weeks, from December 3rd to December 30th. The total sample size for the Labour Force Survey in December was 1,543 persons, 16–74 years old who were randomly selected from the registered population. When individuals out of scope had been removed from the sample, the net sample was 1,509 persons. In total, the number of answers was 973 individuals corresponding to a response rate of 64.5%.
It should be noted that all numbers are rounded to the nearest hundred, and results are weighted by sex and age groups.