Please note that this press release was corrected 25 August at 11:30. The original version stated that seasonally unemployment had decreased by 0.1 percentage point while it actually increased by 0.1 percentage point.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in July 2022 was 4.1% according to results from the Icelandic Labour Force Survey. The seasonally adjusted activity rate was 79.3% and the seasonally adjusted employment rate 76.1%. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased by 0.1 percentage point between months while the seasonally adjusted employment rate decreased by 0.4 percentage points. The seasonally adjusted trend of unemployment has decreased by 0.1 percentage point over the past six months and the trend of the employment rate has decreased by 0.2 percentage points.
Based on unadjusted measures from the Labour Force Survey, there were 219,800 (±8,800) individuals aged 16-74 years old active on the labour market in July 2022, which is equivalent to 80.7% (±3.0) activity rate. Of the labour force, 212,300 (±6,800) were employed and 7,500 (±3,000) unemployed and looking for work. The employment rate was estimated to be 78.0% (±3.2) and the unemployment rate 3.4% (±1.5). Compared with July 2021 the employment rate has stayed the same between years and the unemployment rate has decreased by 0.7 percentage points.
It is estimated that 21,900 individuals had unmet need for employment (labour market slack) in July 2022 which corresponds to 9.7% of the labour force and potential labour force. Comparison with July 2021 shows little or no change in the labour market slack between years. The seasonally adjusted trend of labour market slack has decreased by 0.3 percentage points over the past six months. Of those with an unmet need in July 2022, 15.1% were available to work but not looking, and the same percentage of people were looking for work but not available to work. In this group, 34.1% were unemployed and 35.6% were considered underemployed.
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 July 2022 covers four weeks, from 3rd to 30th of July. The sample consisted of 1,553 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 1,523 individuals. Usable answers were obtained from 859 individuals which corresponds to a 56.4% response rate.