The Icelandic unemployment rate hit a record low in March. Only 1.7% of the labour force was out of work, the lowest share since prior to the 2008 financial crisis and the deep recession caused by the collapse of the Icelandic banking system in October 2008. Unemployment has not been this low since November 2007, when it was measured at 1.3%.
Booming economy forces Iceland to import workers
According to the Icelandic Labour Force Survey, carried out by Statistics Iceland, the number of people out of work in March 2017 was 3,400, compared to 7,200 in March 2016 when unemployment was 3.8%.
Read more: Too many jobs: Iceland needs at least 7,000 new foreign workers next couple of years
At the same time as unemployment has dropped, year over year, the labour participation rate has increased, as more people have entered the labour market to search for work. The labour participation rate in Iceland in March 2017 was 84.9%, compared to 81.8% in March 2016.
The combination of high labour participation rate and low unemployment rate means the Icelandic labour market is facing increasing pressure to fill the new jobs which are being created by a booming economy. Icelandic businesses are therefore increasingly looking abroad to fill jobs.
Comparison with the US and other developed countries
The unemployment rate in Iceland is extremely low in international comparison, while the labour participation rate is unusually high when compared to other OECD countries. The average OECD labor participation rate in 2015 (the latest figures available) was 71.3%, and the OECD unemployment rate in fourth quarter of 2016 (the latest figures available) was 6.2%.
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics the March 2017 labor participation rate in the US was 63%, and the US unemployment rate 4.5%
The Icelandic unemployment rate hit a record low in March. Only 1.7% of the labour force was out of work, the lowest share since prior to the 2008 financial crisis and the deep recession caused by the collapse of the Icelandic banking system in October 2008. Unemployment has not been this low since November 2007, when it was measured at 1.3%.
Booming economy forces Iceland to import workers
According to the Icelandic Labour Force Survey, carried out by Statistics Iceland, the number of people out of work in March 2017 was 3,400, compared to 7,200 in March 2016 when unemployment was 3.8%.
Read more: Too many jobs: Iceland needs at least 7,000 new foreign workers next couple of years
At the same time as unemployment has dropped, year over year, the labour participation rate has increased, as more people have entered the labour market to search for work. The labour participation rate in Iceland in March 2017 was 84.9%, compared to 81.8% in March 2016.
The combination of high labour participation rate and low unemployment rate means the Icelandic labour market is facing increasing pressure to fill the new jobs which are being created by a booming economy. Icelandic businesses are therefore increasingly looking abroad to fill jobs.
Comparison with the US and other developed countries
The unemployment rate in Iceland is extremely low in international comparison, while the labour participation rate is unusually high when compared to other OECD countries. The average OECD labor participation rate in 2015 (the latest figures available) was 71.3%, and the OECD unemployment rate in fourth quarter of 2016 (the latest figures available) was 6.2%.
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics the March 2017 labor participation rate in the US was 63%, and the US unemployment rate 4.5%
