There were 203,500 persons aged from 16 to 74 in the labour force in January 2018, according to the Icelandic Labour Force Survey. Thereof, 195,500 persons were employed and 8,100 persons were unemployed. The activity rate was 81.7%, employment rate was 78.5% and unemployment rate was 4.0%.
Comparison between January 2017 and 2018 shows that even though the labour force has increased by 12,300 the activity rate has increased by 1.3 percentage points. The number of people in employment increased by 11,800 and the employment rate increased by 1.2 percentage points. The number of unemployed increased by 600 and the unemployment rate increased by 0.1 point. Those inactive were 45,600 compared with 46,500 persons in January 2017.
Flow Chart — Labour force 16–74 years — January 2018
Figures may not add up because of rounding. CI (95%) Unemployment rate: Total ±1.4; males ±1.5; females ±2.5
Seasonally adjusted unemployment 3.9% in January
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 was 209,400 in January 2018. This corresponds to an 83.4% activity rate which is 0.4 percentage points higher than in December 2017. The number of unemployed persons in January 2018 was estimated to be 8,300, an increase of 1,600 persons since December. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.9% in January compared with 3.3% in December. The seasonally adjusted employment rate was 80.1% in January and decreased slightly or by 0.1 percentage point between months. The estimated number of inactive people decreased from 42,200 in December 2017 to 41,800 in January 2018.
The trend for seasonally adjusted data in the last six months shows that the unemployment rate has increased by 0.4 percentage points and in the last 12 months it has increased by 0.7 points. The employment rate has remained unchanged the past six months but decreased by 0.6 points in the last 12 months.
Implementation
January 2018 is divided into four weeks, from 1st to 28th of January. The total sample size for the Labour Force Survey was 1,526 persons, 16–74 years old, selected randomly from the registered population. When individuals out of scope had been removed from the sample, the net sample was 1,497 persons. In total, the number of answers was 1,009 which correspond to 67.4% response rate. The results are weighted by sex and age groups. The confidence limit of the estimates on activity rate is ±2.3 percentage points, employment rate ±2.5 percentage points and unemployment rate ±1.4 percentage points, for January 2018. 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 January — Original | ||||||
| CI | CI | CI | ||||
| 2016 | (±95%) | 2017 | (±95%) | 2018 | (±95%) | |
| Total 16–74 years | ||||||
| Activity rate | 81.5 | 2.4 | 80.4 | 2.6 | 81.7 | 2.3 |
| Employment rate | 79.2 | 2.6 | 77.3 | 2.8 | 78.5 | 2.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 2.8 | 1.2 | 3.9 | 1.5 | 4.0 | 1.4 |
| Hours of work | 39.2 | 1.3 | 39.2 | 1.2 | 38.4 | 1.2 |
| Labour force | 189,300 | 5,700 | 191,200 | 6,300 | 203,500 | 5,700 |
| Employed | 183,900 | 6,000 | 183,700 | 6,700 | 195,500 | 6,200 |
| Unemployed | 5,300 | 2,400 | 7,500 | 3,000 | 8,100 | 2,900 |
| Inactive | 42,900 | 5,700 | 46,500 | 6,300 | 45,600 | 5,700 |
| Est. population | 232,100 | • | 237,700 | • | 249,100 | • |
| Table 2. Labour market last 6 months — seasonal adjustment | ||||||
| Aug-17 | Sep-17 | Oct-17 | Nov-17 | Dec-17 | Jan-18 | |
| Total 16–74 years | ||||||
| Activity rate | 81.8 | 81.1 | 83.0 | 80.7 | 82.9 | 83.4 |
| Employment rate | 79.5 | 78.6 | 79.9 | 79.0 | 80.2 | 80.1 |
| Unemployment rate | 2.8 | 3.1 | 3.7 | 2.1 | 3.3 | 3.9 |
| Hours of work | 39.7 | 39.3 | 39.9 | 39.4 | 40.0 | 39.8 |
| Labour force | 196,400 | 198,600 | 204,100 | 198,500 | 204,800 | 209,400 |
| Employed | 191,000 | 192,400 | 196,500 | 194,300 | 198,100 | 201,200 |
| Unemployed | 5,400 | 6,200 | 7,600 | 4,200 | 6,700 | 8,300 |
| Inactive | 43,800 | 46,300 | 41,800 | 47,500 | 42,200 | 41,800 |
| Est. population | 240,200 | 244,900 | 245,900 | 246,100 | 247,000 | 251,200 |
| Table 3. Labour market last 6 months — seasonal adjustment trend | ||||||
| Aug-17 | Sep-17 | Oct-17 | Nov-17 | Dec-17 | Jan-18 | |
| Total 16–74 years | ||||||
| Activity rate | 82.5 | 82.5 | 82.6 | 82.7 | 82.8 | 82.9 |
| Employment rate | 79.8 | 79.8 | 79.8 | 79.9 | 79.9 | 79.9 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.6 |
| Hours of work | 39.6 | 39.6 | 39.6 | 39.6 | 39.7 | 39.7 |
| Labour force | 199,800 | 200,800 | 202,200 | 203,600 | 204,800 | 205,700 |
| Employed | 193,400 | 194,100 | 195,300 | 196,600 | 197,600 | 198,300 |
| Unemployed | 6,400 | 6,700 | 6,900 | 7,000 | 7,200 | 7,400 |
| Inactive | 42,400 | 42,600 | 42,500 | 42,400 | 42,400 | 42,400 |
| Est. population | 242,200 | 243,400 | 244,700 | 246,100 | 247,300 | 248,100 |