Based on unadjusted monthly measures from the Icelandic Labour Force Survey, the number of 16-74 year olds active in the labour market was estimated to be 213,700 (± 5,300) in July 2020, which is equivalent to an activity rate of 82.2% (± 2.0). Of active individuals, the number of employed persons was estimated to be 202,600 (± 4,600) and 10,900 (± 2,600) unemployed and looking for a job. The rate of employed individuals of the population was estimated to be 78.0% (±2.3%) and the unadjusted unmployment rate 5.1% (±1.2).
Compared to July 2019 the unemployment rate has increased by 2.3 percentage points and the employment rate has decreased by 2.8 percentage points between years. The employment rate of individuals 16-24 years of age has decreased by 3.4 percentage points from July 2019 and the unemployment rate by 0.6 percentage points.
The seasonally adjusted numbers in July show the number of unemployed to be 12,600 which is equivalent to 6.4% of the labour force. Seasonally adjusted activity rate was 79.9% and the employment rate 75.7% which are similar results to June 2020. The seasonally adjusted average hours worked in July was 38.7 which is a 1.8 hour increase from June.
The seasonally adjusted trend of activity rate for the last six months decreased from 81.1% in February 2020 to 79.8% in July. The seasonally adjusted trend of unemployment rate was 4.8% which is an increase by 0.8 percentage point from February.
As has been noted in the monthly news on the labour force over the past couple of months it is important to focus on the unadjusted numbers of unemployment when estimating short term effects. This is due to the fact that seasonally adjusted estimates correct for general seasonal changes in the labour market but these kinds of adjustments could be inaccurate during the present extraordinary labour market situation.
All numbers are weighted by age and gender and rounded to the nearest hundred.
| Table 1. Labour market in July — unadjusted measures | ||||||
| CI | CI | CI | ||||
| 2018 | (±95%) | 2019 | (±95%) | 2020 | (±95%) | |
| Total 16–74 years | ||||||
| Activity rate | 84.1 | 2.2 | 83.0 | 2.4 | 82.2 | 2.0 |
| Employment rate | 82.0 | 2.2 | 80.8 | 2.4 | 78.0 | 2.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 2.5 | 0.9 | 2.8 | 1.0 | 5.1 | 1.2 |
| Hours of work | 42.5 | 1.4 | 42.7 | 1.4 | 42.2 | 1.1 |
| Labour force | 210,800 | 5,600 | 214,300 | 6,300 | 213,700 | 5,300 |
| Employed | 205,700 | 4,500 | 208,500 | 5,200 | 202,600 | 4,600 |
| Unemployed | 5,200 | 2,000 | 5,800 | 2,100 | 10,900 | 2,600 |
| Inactive | 39,800 | 5,700 | 43,500 | 6,200 | 46,100 | 5,000 |
| Est. population | 250,600 | • | 258,000 | • | 259,700 | • |
| Table 2. Labour market last 6 months — seasonal adjustment | ||||||
| Feb-20 | Mar-20 | Apr-20 | May-20 | Jun-20 | Jul-20 | |
| Total 16–74 years | ||||||
| Activity rate | 80.4 | 79.0 | 75.4 | 79.5 | 80.1 | 79.9 |
| Employment rate | 77.5 | 76.9 | 70.2 | 72.8 | 75.5 | 75.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.0 | 3.3 | 5.3 | 5.9 | 4.1 | 6.4 |
| Hours of work | 39.4 | 38.4 | 37.3 | 36.7 | 36.9 | 38.7 |
| Labour force | 208,500 | 208,300 | 195,400 | 203,700 | 209,400 | 208,400 |
| Employed | 199,600 | 202,200 | 183,200 | 190,500 | 197,900 | 194,800 |
| Unemployed | 10,300 | 5,900 | 11,300 | 14,300 | 8,300 | 12,600 |
| Inactive | 51,000 | 53,300 | 61,700 | 55,400 | 53,700 | 50,900 |
| Est. population | 259,600 | 261,800 | 258,500 | 259,500 | 262,100 | 260,100 |
| Table 3. Labour market last 6 months — seasonal adjustment trend | ||||||
| Feb-20 | Mar-20 | Apr-20 | May-20 | Jun-20 | Jul-20 | |
| Total 16–74 years | ||||||
| Activity rate | 81.1 | 80.1 | 80.1 | 79.9 | 79.9 | 79.8 |
| Employment rate | 77.6 | 77.0 | 77.0 | 77.2 | 78.2 | 77.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.0 | 3.6 | 4.1 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.8 |
| Hours of work | 39.8 | 39.5 | 37.5 | 37.3 | 36.8 | 37.9 |
| Labour force | 209,300 | 209,000 | 206,900 | 207,100 | 208,400 | 208,300 |
| Employed | 201,000 | 202,000 | 198,500 | 196,300 | 199,300 | 199,800 |
| Unemployed | 8,100 | 7,500 | 8,500 | 9,200 | 9,000 | 9,500 |
| Inactive | 50,300 | 52,200 | 56,400 | 56,700 | 55,000 | 52,400 |
| Est. population | 259,600 | 261,800 | 260,600 | 259,900 | 262,000 | 260,900 |
About the data
The Labour Force Survey for July 2020 covers 4 weeks, from June 29th through August 2nd. The sample consisted of 1,917 individuals 16-74 years old, domiciled in Iceland. When those who were domiciled abroad or deceased had been excluded the net sample consisted of 1,880 individuals. Usable answers were obtained from 1,231 individuals which corresponds to 65.5 % response rate.