In May 2026, there were 13,100 unemployed individuals aged 16 to 74 according to seasonally adjusted results from Icelandic Labour force survey. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 5.6%, the employment rate 76.5%, and the activity rate 81.1%. Overall, these indicators remained largely unchanged from the previous month, although there was a slight increase in both the employment rate and labour force participation.
According to the unadjusted measurements, unemployment was 8.3% in May 2026. The number of unemployed individuals was around 19,800. The employment rate was 74.8%, corresponding to just under 219,300 people, and the activity rate was 81.6%, or about 239,100 individuals in the labour force. Compared with the same month in 2025, measured unemployment increased by 3.8 percentage points, the employment rate fell by 3.8 percentage points, and the activity rate decreased by 0.7 percentage points.
During the spring months, it is common for the number of young people in the labour market to increase as they search for summer jobs. This is reflected in the May figures, when unemployment among those aged 16–24 was 23.8%, compared with 5.1% among those aged 25 and over.