The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in May 2022 was 3.5% according to results from the Icelandic Labour Force Survey. The seasonally adjusted activity rate was 80.8% and the seasonally adjusted employment rate 78.0%. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased by 1.0 percentage points between months and the seasonally adjusted employment rate increased by 0.4 percentage points. The seasonally adjusted trend of unemployment decreased by 1.0 percentage points over the past six months while the trend of employment rate increased by 1.1 percentage points.
Based on unadjusted measures from the Labour Force Survey, there were 225,000 (± 6,600) individuals aged 16-74 years old active on the labour market in May 2022, which is equivalent to 83.4% (± 2.5) activity rate. Of the labour force, 211,900 (± 6,000) were employed and 13,100 (± 4,100) unemployed and looking for work. The employment rate was estimated to be 78.6 (± 2.8) and the unemployment rate 5.8% (± 1.8). Employed individuals worked 36.7 (± 1.4) hours on average per week in May 2022. Compared with May 2021 the activity rate has increased by 3.4 percentage points between years. The employment rate increased by 5.3 percentage points between years and the unemployment rate decreased by 2.6 percentage points.
It is estimated that 25,000 individuals had unmet need for employment (labour market slack) in May 2022 which corresponds to 10.8% of the labour force and potential labour force. Of those, 52.6% were unemployed, 16.0% willing to work but not looking, 5.1% in search of a job but not ready to work and 26.3% underemployed (working part-time and wanting to work more). Comparison with May 2021 shows that the labour market slack has decreased by 5.8 percentage points between years. The seasonally adjusted trend of labour market slack has decreased by 2.5 percentage points over the past six months.
Please note that the sum of sub-items might be inconsistent with the overall results due to rounding.
About the data
The Icelandic Labour Force Survey for May 2022 covers four weeks, from 1 May through 28 May. The sample consisted of 1,552 individuals 16-74 years old with legal residence in Iceland. Excluding those from the sample who were living abroad or deceased, the net sample consisted of 1,521 individuals. Usable answers were obtained from 883 individuals which corresponds to a 58.0% response rate.