According to seasonally adjusted estimates from the Icelandic Labour Force Survey, the number of people in the labour force was 211,500 in January 2019. This corresponds to an 83.3% activity rate, which is 2.6 percentage points higher than in December. The seasonally adjusted number of unemployed persons in January 2019 was estimated to be 5,800 or 2.7%, an increase of 1.1 percentage points from December 2018. The seasonally adjusted employment rate for January was 81.0%, which is an increase of 1.8 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 points, while the employment rate increased by 0.2 percentage points, and the rate of unemployment decreased by 0.1 percentage points.
The unadjusted measures from the Icelandic Labour Force Survey show that 207,500 persons 16 to 74 years old belonged to the labour force in January 2019, setting the activity rate at 81.9% (±2.1). Thereof, 201,400 (±5,600) persons were employed and 6,100 (±2,300) persons were unemployed. The proportion of the population who were employed was 75.9% (±2.2), while the proportion of active unemployed persons was 2.9% (±1.1).
Comparison between January 2018 and 2019 shows that the number of people active in the labour force increased by 6,400 and its proportion of the population increased by 0.5 percentage points. The number of employed persons increased by 8,000, or by 1.3 percentage points.
The number of unemployed decreased by 1,600 in January 2019 compared with January 2018 when they were 7,700 or 3.8% of the labour force. In total, there were 46,000 inactive persons in the population in January 2019, which is a slight decrease from January 2018 when they were 46,100.
Figures may not add up because of rounding. CI (95%) Unemployment rate: Total ±1.1; males ±1.6; females ±1.6.
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About the data
January 2019 is divided into five weeks, from December 31st 2018 to February 1th 2019. The total sample size for the Labour Force Survey in January was 1,924 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 1,884 persons. In total, the number of responses was 1,189 individuals corresponding to a response rate of 63.1%.
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 January — Original | ||||||
| CI | CI | CI | ||||
| 2017 | (±95%) | 2018 | (±95%) | 2019 | (±95%) | |
| Total 16–74 years | ||||||
| Activity rate | 80.4 | 2,6 | 81.3 | 2,3 | 81.9 | 2,1 |
| Employment rate | 77.3 | 2,8 | 78.2 | 2,5 | 79.5 | 2,2 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.9 | 1,5 | 3.8 | 1,4 | 2.9 | 1,1 |
| Hours of work | 39.2 | 1,2 | 38.5 | 1,2 | 38.3 | 1 |
| Labour force | 191,200 | 6,200 | 201,100 | 5,600 | 207,500 | 5,300 |
| Employed | 183,700 | 6,600 | 193,400 | 6,100 | 201,400 | 5,600 |
| Unemployed | 7,500 | 3,000 | 7,700 | 2,900 | 6,100 | 2,300 |
| Inactive | 46,500 | 6,200 | 46,100 | 5,600 | 46,000 | 5,300 |
| Est. population | 237,700 | • | 247,200 | • | 253,400 | • |
| Table 2. Labour market last 6 months — seasonal adjustment | ||||||
| Aug-18 | Sep-18 | Oct-18 | Nov-18 | Dec-18 | Jan-19 | |
| Total 16–74 years | ||||||
| Activity rate | 81.7 | 81.6 | 81.8 | 82.3 | 80.6 | 83.3 |
| Employment rate | 79.5 | 80.2 | 79.2 | 79.4 | 79.3 | 81.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 2.7 | 1.8 | 3.1 | 3.5 | 1.7 | 2.7 |
| Hours of work | 40.4 | 39.2 | 39.4 | 39.0 | 39.3 | 39.6 |
| Labour force | 204,500 | 205,100 | 206,800 | 208,700 | 203,900 | 211,500 |
| Employed | 199,000 | 201,400 | 200,400 | 201,400 | 200,500 | 205,700 |
| Unemployed | 5,500 | 3,700 | 6,400 | 7,300 | 3,400 | 5,800 |
| Inactive | 45,900 | 46,200 | 46,100 | 45,000 | 49,000 | 42,400 |
| Est. population | 250,400 | 251,300 | 252,900 | 253,700 | 253,000 | 253,900 |
| Table 3. Labour market last 6 months — seasonal adjustment trend | ||||||
| Aug-18 | Sep-18 | Oct-18 | Nov-18 | Dec-18 | Jan-19 | |
| Total 16–74 years | ||||||
| Activity rate | 81.9 | 81.9 | 81.9 | 81.9 | 82.0 | 82.0 |
| Employment rate | 79.7 | 79.7 | 79.7 | 79.8 | 79.8 | 79.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 2.6 |
| Hours of work | 39.6 | 39.5 | 39.4 | 39.4 | 39.4 | 39.4 |
| Labour force | 204,700 | 205,300 | 205,800 | 206,300 | 206,800 | 207,200 |
| Employed | 199,200 | 199,800 | 200,300 | 200,800 | 201,300 | 201,800 |
| Unemployed | 5,500 | 5,500 | 5,500 | 5,500 | 5,400 | 5,400 |
| Inactive | 45,300 | 45,400 | 45,400 | 45,500 | 45,500 | 45,600 |
| Est. population | 250,000 | 250,700 | 251,300 | 251,800 | 252,300 | 252,800 |