According to seasonally adjusted figures from Statistics Iceland's labour market survey, the number of unemployed people was 7,300 in December, or 3.9% of the labour force. This is 0.2 percentage points lower than in November. Seasonally adjusted labour force participation was 80.7%, which is about 0.1 percentage points higher than in November. The seasonally adjusted percentage of employed persons was 77.6%, or 0.2 percentage points higher than in November.
Seasonally adjusted unemployment trends have been steady in recent quarters. A slight upward trend is seen over the past six months, or from 3.6% in July to 3.8% in December. The employment rate ratio has also been stable when looking at the last six months.
According to an unadjusted survey, it is estimated that around 207,200 people aged 16-74 years were on the labour market in December 2019. This is equivalent to 79.8% (± 2 9) participation. Of the labour force, 200,700 (± 5,300) were found to be employed and 6,700 (± 1,000) were unemployed and looking for work. The employment rate was 77.3% (± 2.6) and the unemployment rate was 3.2% (± 1.1).
Since December 2018, the rate of unemployment has increased by 1.8 percentage points, while at the same time, the labour force participation rate has increased slightly, or by 0.2 percentage points. In contrast, the employment rate has dropped by 1.2 percentage points.
All counts are rounded to the nearest hundred.
Flow Chart - Labour force 16–74 years - December 2019 unadjusted measures
| Table 1. Labour market in December — unadjusted measures | ||||||
| CI | CI | CI | ||||
| 2017 | (±95%) | 2018 | (±95%) | 2019 | (±95%) | |
| Total 16–74 years | ||||||
| Activity rate | 81.8 | 2.6 | 79.6 | 2.5 | 79.8 | 2.9 |
| Employment rate | 79.3 | 2.8 | 78.5 | 2.6 | 77.3 | 2.6 |
| Unemployment rat | 3.0 | 0.9 | 1.4 | 0.9 | 3.2 | 1.1 |
| Hours of work | 37.6 | 1.5 | 36.2 | 1.3 | 37.6 | 1.0 |
| Labour force | 201,700 | 6,400 | 201,600 | 6,300 | 207,200 | 5,300 |
| Employed | 195,600 | 6,800 | 198,800 | 6,500 | 200,700 | 4,900 |
| Unemployed | 6,100 | 2,900 | 2,800 | 1,800 | 6,700 | 1,000 |
| Inactive | 44,900 | 2,100 | 51,700 | 2,400 | 52,600 | 2,100 |
| Est. population | 246,600 | • | 253,300 | • | 259,700 | • |
| Table 2. Labour market last 6 months — seasonal adjustment | ||||||
| Jul-19 | Aug-19 | Sep-19 | Oct-19 | Nov-19 | Dec-19 | |
| Total 16–74 years | ||||||
| Activity rate | 80.5 | 80.5 | 80.9 | 81.1 | 80.5 | 80.7 |
| Employment rate | 77.4 | 77.3 | 77.9 | 78.1 | 77.4 | 77.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.4 | 4.4 | 3.6 | 3.4 | 4.1 | 3.9 |
| Hours of work | 39.5 | 40.1 | 40.1 | 40.4 | 40.3 | 39.9 |
| Labour force | 208,300 | 205,700 | 208,100 | 210,200 | 205,800 | 209,100 |
| Employed | 199,700 | 196,500 | 200,500 | 202,800 | 198,200 | 202,200 |
| Unemployed | 6,700 | 8,900 | 6,800 | 7,100 | 7,100 | 7,300 |
| Inactive | 48,200 | 51,100 | 49,200 | 47,500 | 52,600 | 49,700 |
| Est. population | 256,300 | 256,800 | 257,300 | 257,900 | 258,400 | 258,900 |
| Table 3. Labour market last 6 months — seasonal adjustment trend | ||||||
| Jul-19 | Aug-19 | Sep-19 | Oct-19 | Nov-19 | Dec-19 | |
| Total 16–74 years | ||||||
| Activity rate | 80.7 | 80.7 | 80.8 | 80.8 | 80.7 | 80.7 |
| Employment rate | 77.7 | 77.6 | 77.8 | 77.8 | 77.7 | 77.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.8 |
| Hours of work | 39.9 | 40.0 | 40.1 | 40.2 | 40.2 | 40.1 |
| Labour force | 208,000 | 208,000 | 208,200 | 208,400 | 208,600 | 208,900 |
| Employed | 199,300 | 199,300 | 200,000 | 200,800 | 201,100 | 201,200 |
| Unemployed | 7,100 | 7,300 | 7,400 | 7,300 | 7,300 | 7,200 |
| Inactive | 48,500 | 49,000 | 49,200 | 49,500 | 49,700 | 49,800 |
| Est. population | 256,300 | 256,800 | 257,300 | 257,900 | 258,400 | 258,900 |
About the data
The labour force survey in December 2019 covers four weeks, from 1 December 2019 to 4 January 2020. A random sample of 1,880 persons aged 16–74 years who were domiciled in Iceland were randomly selected from tha National Registry. Excluding those who were deceased or residing abroad, the net sample was 1,136 individuals. A total of usable answers were obtained from 968 individuals, which corresponds to a response rate of 60.7%.
We note that numbers for the 2nd and 3rd quarters of 2019 have now been updated.