According to the Icelandic Labour Force Survey the number of persons in the labour force in June 2017 was 205,800. Of those in the labour force 201,100 persons were employed and 4,700 persons were unemployed. The activity rate was 85.5%, the employment rate was 83.5% and the unemployment rate was 2.3%. Comparison between June 2016 and 2017 shows very little change. The activity rate increased slightly or by 0.3 points of the total population. The employment rate increased by 0.2 points and number of people in employment increased by 4,700. The unemployment rate increased by 0.1 point and number of unemployed increased by 300 persons.
Flow Chart: Labour force 16–74 years — June 2017
Figures may not add up because of rounding.
Seasonally adjusted unemployment was 2.5% in June
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 197,600 in May 2017. This corresponds to 82.6% activity rate which is 0.4 percentage points lower than in May 2017. The number of unemployed persons in June 2017 is estimated around 5,000, a decrease by 600 since May. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 2.5% in June compared to 2.8% in May and the seasonally adjusted employment rate was 80.5% in June. The trend for seasonally adjusted data in the last six months shows very little or no change for both employment and unemployment rates.
Implementation
June 2017 is divided into five weeks, from 29th of May to 2nd of July. The total sample size was 1,511 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 1,480 persons. In total, the number of usable answers was 1.002 which corresponds to 67.7% response rate. All figures have been weighted by sex and age groups. The confidence limit of the estimate on activity rate is ±2.1 point, employment rate ±2.2 points and unemployment rate ±1.1 point. Figures may not add up because of rounding.
| Table 1. Labour market in June — original | ||||||
| CI | CI | CI | ||||
| 2015 | (±95%) | 2016 | (±95%) | 2017 | (±95%) | |
| Total 16–74 years | ||||||
| Activity rate | 86.6 | 2.0 | 85.2 | 2.0 | 85.5 | 2.1 |
| Employment rate | 84.1 | 2.2 | 83.4 | 2.2 | 83.5 | 2.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 2.9 | 1.2 | 2.2 | 1.0 | 2.3 | 1.1 |
| Hours of work | 42.5 | 1.3 | 41.9 | 1.2 | 41.6 | 1.2 |
| Labour force | 202,200 | 4,700 | 200,800 | 4,800 | 205,800 | 4,900 |
| Employed | 196,400 | 5,100 | 196,400 | 5,100 | 201,100 | 5,300 |
| Unemployed | 5,800 | 2,300 | 4,400 | 2,000 | 4,700 | 2,200 |
| Inactive | 31,300 | 4,700 | 34,800 | 4,800 | 35,000 | 4,900 |
| Est. population | 233,500 | • | 235,600 | • | 240,800 | • |
| Table 2. Labour market last 6 months — seasonal adjustment | ||||||
| Jan-17 | Feb-17 | Mar-17 | Apr-17 | May-17 | Jun-17 | |
| Total 16–74 years | ||||||
| Activity rate | 82.9 | 83.8 | 84.7 | 83.7 | 83.0 | 82.6 |
| Employment rate | 80.0 | 81.3 | 83.3 | 81.9 | 80.7 | 80.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.5 | 3.1 | 1.7 | 2.2 | 2.8 | 2.5 |
| Hours of work | 40.4 | 40.1 | 40.2 | 40.5 | 40.5 | 40.1 |
| Labour force | 198,800 | 200,400 | 202,100 | 200,700 | 198,600 | 197,600 |
| Employed | 191,900 | 194,200 | 198,800 | 196,400 | 193,000 | 192,600 |
| Unemployed | 7,000 | 6,200 | 3,400 | 4,300 | 5,600 | 5,000 |
| Inactive | 41,100 | 38,600 | 36,400 | 39,100 | 40,600 | 41,500 |
| Est. population | 239,900 | 239,000 | 238,500 | 239,900 | 239,200 | 239,200 |
| Table 3. Labour market last 6 months — seasonal adjustment trend | ||||||
| Jan-17 | Feb-17 | Mar-17 | Apr-17 | May-17 | Jun-17 | |
| Total 16–74 years | ||||||
| Activity rate | 83.5 | 83.6 | 83.7 | 83.6 | 83.5 | 83.4 |
| Employment rate | 81.2 | 81.3 | 81.5 | 81.4 | 81.3 | 81.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 2.8 | 2.7 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 2.6 |
| Hours of work | 40.2 | 40.2 | 40.3 | 40.3 | 40.3 | 40.2 |
| Labour force | 199,000 | 199,900 | 200,500 | 200,300 | 199,400 | 198,900 |
| Employed | 193,500 | 194,500 | 195,200 | 195,000 | 194,200 | 193,700 |
| Unemployed | 5,500 | 5,400 | 5,300 | 5,200 | 5,200 | 5,300 |
| Inactive | 39,300 | 39,200 | 39,100 | 39,200 | 39,500 | 39,600 |
| Est. population | 238,400 | 239,100 | 239,600 | 239,500 | 239,000 | 238,500 |