There were 209,300 persons aged from 16 to 74 in the labour force in May 2018, according to the Icelandic Labour Force Survey. Thereof, 201,100 persons were employed and 8,200 persons were unemployed. The activity rate was 83.4%, employment rate was 80.1% and unemployment rate was 3.9%.
Comparison between May 2017 and 2018 shows that while the labour force increased by 6,000, the activity rate decreased by 1.3 percentage points. The number of people in employment increased by 8,100 although the share of people employed of the estimated population decreased by 0.3 percentage points.
The number of unemployed decreased by 2,100 since May 2017, with a decrease in the unemployment rate by 1.2 percentage points. Those who were considered inactive in May 2018 were 41,700 compared with 36,600 persons in May 2017.
Flow Chart — Labour force 16–74 years — May 2018
Figures may not add up because of rounding. CI (95%) Unemployment rate: Total ±1.2; males ±1.8; females ±1.7.
Seasonally adjusted unemployment was 2.3% in May 2018
Changes in the Icelandic labour market display a seasonal pattern as can be seen in the figures below. The seasonally adjusted estimate of the number of people in the labour force was 204,900 in May 2018. This corresponds to an 81.6% activity rate which is a 0.7 percentage point decrease from the activity rate in April. The seasonally adjusted number of unemployed persons in May 2018 was estimated to be 4,700, a decrease of 2,400 persons since April.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 2.3% in May 2018 compared with 3.5% in April, a decrease of 1.2 percentage points between months.
The seasonally adjusted employment rate was 79.7% in May 2018, which is a 0.3 percentage point increase since April. The estimated number of inactive people increased by 2,000, from 44,200 in April 2018 to 46,200 in May 2018.
There seems to be a considerable change in both the direct measure of unemployment and the seasonally adjusted data, particularly among young people aged 16 to 24. These seasonal changes are to be expected as this group usually starts looking for work by the end of the school year.
Moreover, the trend for seasonally adjusted data for activity, employment and unemployment rates in the last six months shows these labour market numbers mostly stayed the same. Hence, the Icelandic labour market may be viewed as stable and that these labour market numbers are in line with previously published labour market numbers over the last 6 months.
Implementation
May 2018 is divided into five weeks, from 6th of May to 3rd of June. The total sample size for the Labour Force Survey was 1,930 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 1,856 persons. In total, the number of answers was 1,205 corresponding to 64.9% response rate.
The results are weighted by sex and age groups. The confidence limit of the estimates on activity rate is ±2.0 percentage points, employment rate ±2.2 percentage points and unemployment rate ±1.2 percentage points, for May 2018. Figures may not add up because of rounding. It should be noted that 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 May — Original | ||||||
| CI | CI | CI | ||||
| 2016 | (±95%) | 2017 | (±95%) | 2018 | (±95%) | |
| Total 16–74 years | ||||||
| Activity rate | 85.9 | 2.2 | 84.7 | 2.4 | 83.4 | 2 |
| Employment rate | 82.6 | 2.5 | 80.4 | 2.7 | 80.1 | 2.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.9 | 1.5 | 5.1 | 1.8 | 3.9 | 1.2 |
| Hours of work | 41.4 | 1.3 | 41.9 | 1.4 | 39.7 | 1.2 |
| Labour force | 201,400 | 5,200 | 203,300 | 5,700 | 209,300 | 5,000 |
| Employed | 193,600 | 5,800 | 193,000 | 6,600 | 201,100 | 5,500 |
| Unemployed | 7,800 | 3,000 | 10,300 | 3,800 | 8,200 | 2,600 |
| Inactive | 33,100 | 5,200 | 36,600 | 5,700 | 41,700 | 5,000 |
| Est. population | 234,500 | • | 239,900 | • | 251,000 | • |
| Table 2. Labour market last 6 months — seasonal adjustment | ||||||
| Dec-17 | Jan-18 | Feb-18 | Mar-18 | Apr-18 | May-18 | |
| Total 16–74 years | ||||||
| Activity rate | 82.8 | 83.1 | 81.0 | 82.1 | 82.3 | 81.6 |
| Employment rate | 80.0 | 80.4 | 79.1 | 80.0 | 79.4 | 79.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.4 | 3.3 | 2.3 | 2.6 | 3.5 | 2.3 |
| Hours of work | 40.2 | 40.0 | 39.2 | 39.9 | 40.7 | 38.7 |
| Labour force | 204,300 | 205,100 | 200,600 | 204,900 | 205,700 | 204,900 |
| Employed | 197,400 | 198,400 | 196,000 | 199,600 | 198,600 | 200,200 |
| Unemployed | 6,900 | 6,700 | 4,600 | 5,300 | 7,100 | 4,700 |
| Inactive | 42,400 | 41,800 | 47,200 | 44,800 | 44,200 | 46,200 |
| Est. population | 246,700 | 246,900 | 247,700 | 249,700 | 249,900 | 251,100 |
| Table 3. Labour market last 6 months — seasonal adjustment trend | ||||||
| Dec-17 | Jan-18 | Feb-18 | Mar-18 | Apr-18 | May-18 | |
| Total 16–74 years | ||||||
| Activity rate | 82.2 | 82.2 | 82.2 | 82.2 | 82.2 | 82.2 |
| Employment rate | 79.8 | 79.9 | 79.9 | 79.9 | 79.9 | 79.9 |
| Unemployment rate | 2.9 | 2.9 | 2.8 | 2.8 | 2.8 | 2.8 |
| Hours of work | 39.8 | 39.8 | 39.8 | 39.8 | 39.8 | 39.8 |
| Labour force | 202,200 | 202,800 | 203,200 | 203,200 | 203,600 | 204,000 |
| Employed | 196,400 | 197,000 | 197,500 | 197,500 | 197,900 | 198,300 |
| Unemployed | 5,800 | 5,800 | 5,700 | 5,700 | 5,700 | 5,700 |
| Inactive | 43,800 | 43,900 | 44,000 | 44,000 | 44,100 | 44,200 |
| Est. population | 246,000 | 246,700 | 247,200 | 247,200 | 247,800 | 248,200 |