The state of the Icelandic economy and labor market remains strong, the latest figures from Statistics Iceland reveal. Unemployment in March was just 2.8%, up from 1.7% in February. The wage index meanwhile rose by 0.3% between February and March. Wages have increased by 7.1% over the past 12 months.
Read more: High wages fuel immigration: Icelandic economy would grind to a halt without foreign workers
According to Statistics Iceland 5,600 persons were unemployed in March, an increase of 2.200 over Ferbruary 2017 when unemployment was only 1.7%. The labor participation rate (activity rate) has dropped at the same time, from 84.9% in March 2017 to 81.4% in March 2018. Statistics Iceland notes that conditions in the labor market were very unusual in March 2017: Unemployment was lower than during the following or preceding months, while labor participation was unusually high.
The wage index in March 2018 stood at 640 points, 0.3% higher than in the previous month. In the last twelve months the monthly wage index has risen by 7.1%. Looking at the real wage index (which takes inflation into consideration) stood at 145.2 points, 0.3% lower than in the previous month, as the consumer price index has been rising somewhat more rapidly in the past few months than it has over the last years. In the last twelve months the real wage index has risen by 4.2%.
Economists have pointed out that the main driver of the rising consumer price index is housing.
The state of the Icelandic economy and labor market remains strong, the latest figures from Statistics Iceland reveal. Unemployment in March was just 2.8%, up from 1.7% in February. The wage index meanwhile rose by 0.3% between February and March. Wages have increased by 7.1% over the past 12 months.
Read more: High wages fuel immigration: Icelandic economy would grind to a halt without foreign workers
According to Statistics Iceland 5,600 persons were unemployed in March, an increase of 2.200 over Ferbruary 2017 when unemployment was only 1.7%. The labor participation rate (activity rate) has dropped at the same time, from 84.9% in March 2017 to 81.4% in March 2018. Statistics Iceland notes that conditions in the labor market were very unusual in March 2017: Unemployment was lower than during the following or preceding months, while labor participation was unusually high.
The wage index in March 2018 stood at 640 points, 0.3% higher than in the previous month. In the last twelve months the monthly wage index has risen by 7.1%. Looking at the real wage index (which takes inflation into consideration) stood at 145.2 points, 0.3% lower than in the previous month, as the consumer price index has been rising somewhat more rapidly in the past few months than it has over the last years. In the last twelve months the real wage index has risen by 4.2%.
Economists have pointed out that the main driver of the rising consumer price index is housing.
