According to statistics from the Directorate of Labour (pdf) unemployment in Iceland was only 2.6% in June, down from 3.2 in June 2014 and 3.9 in June 2013. Unemployment has not been smaller since October 2008.
Unemployment is slightly higher among women (3.3%) than men (2.1%), and in the Capital Region (2.9%) than outside the Capital Region (2.1%). Nearly a fifth of the unemployed are foreign nationals, most of them Polish.
A key reason for shrinking unemployment is to be found in the growth of the tourism industry. Broddi Guðjónsson, an economist at the Arion Bank, told the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service that when the tourism industry is growing by more than 18% each year it is bound to have a significant impact on the wider economy.
According to statistics from the Directorate of Labour (pdf) unemployment in Iceland was only 2.6% in June, down from 3.2 in June 2014 and 3.9 in June 2013. Unemployment has not been smaller since October 2008.
Unemployment is slightly higher among women (3.3%) than men (2.1%), and in the Capital Region (2.9%) than outside the Capital Region (2.1%). Nearly a fifth of the unemployed are foreign nationals, most of them Polish.
A key reason for shrinking unemployment is to be found in the growth of the tourism industry. Broddi Guðjónsson, an economist at the Arion Bank, told the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service that when the tourism industry is growing by more than 18% each year it is bound to have a significant impact on the wider economy.
