According to the Icelandic Labour Force Survey the number of persons in the labour force in July 2017 was 201,900. Of those in the labour force 199,800 persons were employed and 2,100 persons were unemployed. The activity rate was 83.3%, the employment rate was 82.5% and the unemployment rate was 1%, which is the lowes measure since Statistics Iceland started a continuous labour force survey in 2003. Comparison between July 2016 and 2017 shows that the activity rate decreased slightly or by 2.5 points. Number of employed increased by 1,900 but the employment rate decreased by 1.6 points. Unemployed persons decreased by 2,000 since July 2016 when the unemployment rate was 2%. Inactive were 40,400 having increased by 6,900 since July 2016 when they were 33,500.
Flow Chart — Labour force 16–74 years — July 2017
Figures may not add up because of rounding.
Seasonally adjusted unemployment was 1.8% in July
The changes in the Icelandic labour market display a certain pattern as regards seasonality, as can be seen in the figures below. The seasonally adjusted estimate of the number of people in the labour force is 197,100 in July 2017. This corresponds to 81.1% activity rate which is 1.8 percentage points lower than in June 2017. The number of unemployed persons in July 2017 is estimated around 3,600, a decrease by 1,400 since June. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 1.8% in July compared to 2.5% in June. The seasonally adjusted employment rate was 79.6% in July 1.2 points lower than in June. The trend for seasonally adjusted data in the last six months shows that the activity rate has decreased by 0.5 points. The employment rate shows little or no change and the unemployment rate has decreased by 0.7 points.
Implementation
July 2017 is divided into four weeks, from 3rd to 30th of July. The total sample size was 1,217 persons, 16–74 years, randomly chosen from the Population Register. When those who had passed away and those who were living abroad had been deducted from the sample, the net sample was 1,188 persons. In total, the number of usable answers was 789 which correspond to 66.4% response rate. All figures have been weighted by sex and age groups. The confidence limit of the estimate on activity rate is ±2.5 points, employment rate ±2.6 points and unemployment rate ±0.8 point. Figures may not add up because of rounding. All numbers for the first two months in every quarter of the year are preliminary until the end of the quarter.
| Table 1. Labour market in July — Original | ||||||
| CI | CI | CI | ||||
| 2015 | (±95%) | 2016 | (±95%) | 2017 | (±95%) | |
| Total 16-74 years | ||||||
| Activity rate | 84.3 | 2 | 85.8 | 2.2 | 83.3 | 2.5 |
| Employment rate | 81.8 | 2.2 | 84.0 | 2.4 | 82.5 | 2.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.0 | 1.1 | 2.0 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 0.8 |
| Hours of work | 43.0 | 1.3 | 42.5 | 1.5 | 41.8 | 1.3 |
| Labour force | 195,400 | 4,700 | 202,000 | 5,200 | 201,900 | 6,100 |
| Employed | 189,500 | 5,100 | 197,900 | 5,600 | 199,800 | 6,300 |
| Unemployed | 5,900 | 2,100 | 4,100 | 2,200 | 2,100 | 1,600 |
| Inactive | 36,300 | 4,700 | 33,500 | 5,200 | 40,400 | 6,100 |
| Est. population | 231,700 | • | 235,500 | • | 242,300 | • |
| Table 2. Labour market last 6 months — seasonal adjustment | ||||||
| Feb-17 | Mar-17 | Apr-17 | May-17 | Jun-17 | Jul-17 | |
| Total 16-74 years | ||||||
| Activity rate | 83.7 | 85.0 | 83.5 | 83.2 | 82.9 | 81.1 |
| Employment rate | 81.2 | 83.6 | 81.8 | 80.9 | 80.8 | 79.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.1 | 1.7 | 2.1 | 2.8 | 2.5 | 1.8 |
| Hours of work | 39.9 | 40.1 | 40.5 | 40.2 | 39.9 | 39.5 |
| Labour force | 200,300 | 202,000 | 200,600 | 198,400 | 197,500 | 194,700 |
| Employed | 194,200 | 198,600 | 196,300 | 192,900 | 192,500 | 191,100 |
| Unemployed | 6,100 | 3,300 | 4,300 | 5,500 | 5,000 | 3,600 |
| Inactive | 38,900 | 35,600 | 39,500 | 40,000 | 40,800 | 45,500 |
| Est. population | 239,200 | 237,600 | 240,100 | 238,500 | 238,300 | 240,100 |
| Table 3. Labour market last 6 months — seasonal adjustment trend | ||||||
| Feb-17 | Mar-17 | Apr-17 | May-17 | Jun-17 | Jul-17 | |
| Total 16-74 years | ||||||
| Activity rate | 83.4 | 83.5 | 83.4 | 83.2 | 83.0 | 82.9 |
| Employment rate | 81.2 | 81.3 | 81.2 | 81.0 | 81.3 | 81.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 2.7 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 2.1 | 2.0 |
| Hours of work | 40.1 | 40.1 | 40.1 | 40.0 | 39.9 | 39.8 |
| Labour force | 199,600 | 200,200 | 199,900 | 199,000 | 197,200 | 197,100 |
| Employed | 194,200 | 195,000 | 194,700 | 193,800 | 193,100 | 193,000 |
| Unemployed | 5,400 | 5,300 | 5,200 | 5,200 | 4,000 | 4,000 |
| Inactive | 39,600 | 39,600 | 39,800 | 40,200 | 40,500 | 40,600 |
| Est. population | 239,300 | 239,800 | 239,700 | 239,200 | 237,700 | 237,600 |