According to seasonally adjusted estimates from the Icelandic Labour Force Survey, the number of people in the labour force was 206,600 in February 2019. This corresponds to an 80.3% activity rate, which is 1.9 percentage points less than in January. The seasonally adjusted number of unemployed persons in February 2019 was estimated to be 6,700 or 3.3%, a decrease of 0.5 percentage points from January. The seasonally adjusted employment rate for February was 78.1%, which is a decrease of 2.2 percentage points from the month before. The trend for seasonally adjusted data in the last six months shows that the activity rate decreased by 0.1 percentage point and the employment rate decreased by 0.3 percentage points. On the other hand unemployment rate increased by nearly 0.2 percentage points.
The unadjusted measures from the Icelandic Labour Force Survey show that 200,700 persons 16 to 74 years old belonged to the labour force in February 2019, setting the activity rate at 79.0% (±2.6). Thereof, 194,000 (±6,500) persons were employed and 6,700 (±2,900) persons were unemployed. The proportion of the population who were employed was 76.4% (±2.7), while the proportion of active unemployed persons was 3.3% (±1.4).
Comparison between February 2018 and 2019 shows that the number of people active in the labour force increased by 4,200 and its proportion of the population decreased by 0.4 percentage points. The number of employed persons increased by 2,300, but the rate decreased by 1.1 percentage point.
The number of unemployed increased by 1,900 in February 2019 compared with February 2018 when they were 4,800 or 2.4% of the labour force. In total, there were 53,300 inactive persons in the population in February 2019, which is an increase from February 2018 when they were 51,000.
Flow Chart — Labour force 16–74 years — February 2018 measures
About the data
February 2019 is divided into four weeks, from February 4th to March 3rd 2019. The total sample size for the Labour Force Survey in February was 1,527 persons 16–74 years old who were randomly selected from the registered population. When individuals out of scope had been removed from the sample, the net sample was 1,487 persons. In total, the number of responses was 950 individuals corresponding to a response rate of 63.9%.
It should be noted that all numbers are rounded to the nearest hundred, and results are weighted by sex and age groups.
| Table 1. Labour market in February — Original | ||||||
| CI | CI | CI | ||||
| 2017 | (±95%) | 2018 | (±95%) | 2019 | (±95%) | |
| Total 16–74 years | ||||||
| Activity rate | 82.9 | 2,5 | 79.4 | 2,5 | 79.0 | 2,6 |
| Employment rate | 80.4 | 2,7 | 77.5 | 2,6 | 76.4 | 2,7 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.0 | 1,4 | 2.4 | 1,1 | 3.3 | 1,4 |
| Hours of work | 39.3 | 1,4 | 38.7 | 1,2 | 38.8 | 1,2 |
| Labour force | 197,400 | 6,100 | 196,500 | 6,100 | 200,700 | 6,500 |
| Employed | 191,300 | 6,500 | 191,700 | 6,400 | 194,000 | 6,900 |
| Unemployed | 6,000 | 2,800 | 4,800 | 2,200 | 6,700 | 2,900 |
| Inactive | 40,800 | 6,100 | 51,000 | 6,100 | 53,300 | 6,500 |
| Est. population | 238,100 | • | 247,500 | • | 254,000 | • |
| Table 2. Labour market last 6 months — seasonal adjustment | ||||||
| Sep-18 | Oct-18 | Nov-18 | Dec-18 | Jan-19 | Feb-19 | |
| Total 16–74 years | ||||||
| Activity rate | 81.6 | 81.6 | 82.6 | 80.8 | 82.7 | 80.8 |
| Employment rate | 80.2 | 79.1 | 79.7 | 79.4 | 80.4 | 78.1 |
| Unemployment rate | 1.8 | 3.1 | 3.5 | 1.7 | 2.8 | 3.3 |
| Hours of work | 38.7 | 39.6 | 38.7 | 38.8 | 40.0 | 39.1 |
| Labour force | 205,500 | 206,600 | 209,600 | 204,200 | 208,100 | 206,600 |
| Employed | 201,800 | 200,200 | 202,200 | 200,700 | 202,300 | 199,800 |
| Unemployed | 3,700 | 6,400 | 7,400 | 3,500 | 5,800 | 6,700 |
| Inactive | 46,300 | 46,500 | 44,200 | 48,500 | 43,600 | 49,100 |
| Est. population | 251,700 | 253,100 | 253,800 | 252,700 | 251,700 | 255,700 |
| Table 3. Labour market last 6 months — seasonal adjustment trend | ||||||
| Sep-18 | Oct-18 | Nov-18 | Dec-18 | Jan-19 | Feb-19 | |
| Total 16–74 years | ||||||
| Activity rate | 81.8 | 81.8 | 81.8 | 81.7 | 81.7 | 81.7 |
| Employment rate | 79.7 | 79.6 | 79.6 | 79.5 | 79.4 | 79.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.8 | 2.8 |
| Hours of work | 39.6 | 39.4 | 39.3 | 39.3 | 39.4 | 39.5 |
| Labour force | 205,900 | 206,300 | 206,500 | 206,600 | 206,700 | 206,600 |
| Employed | 200,400 | 200,800 | 200,900 | 201,000 | 200,900 | 200,700 |
| Unemployed | 5,500 | 5,500 | 5,600 | 5,600 | 5,800 | 5,900 |
| Inactive | 45,700 | 45,900 | 46,000 | 46,200 | 46,300 | 46,300 |
| Est. population | 251,600 | 252,100 | 252,500 | 252,800 | 252,900 | 252,900 |