Iceland has virtually no unemployment, the latest figures from Statistics Iceland confirm. The unemployment rate was only 2.4% in February, significantly below the 3-4% which economists consider to be the natural rate of unemployment. The unemployment rate has been dropping in recent years. Unemployment in February 2017 was 3% and in February 2016 3.1%.
Read more: More jobs than workers: Foreign nationals make up 13% of the Icelandic workforce
When the low level of unemployment is considering in the context of a very high labor participation rate (80.1%) it becomes clear the Icelandic labor market is operating above full capacity. Due to the extremely tight labor market Icelandic employers have been hiring workers from abroad in recent years.
At the same time as unemployment remains low wages continue to rise. Statistics Iceland report that the wage index for February rose by 0.4% compared to the previous month. Wages have risen by 4.2% in in the past 3 months, and 7.2% year-over-year. Calculated in real terms (which take rising consumer prices into consideration) wages have risen by 4.8% year-over-year.
Iceland has virtually no unemployment, the latest figures from Statistics Iceland confirm. The unemployment rate was only 2.4% in February, significantly below the 3-4% which economists consider to be the natural rate of unemployment. The unemployment rate has been dropping in recent years. Unemployment in February 2017 was 3% and in February 2016 3.1%.
Read more: More jobs than workers: Foreign nationals make up 13% of the Icelandic workforce
When the low level of unemployment is considering in the context of a very high labor participation rate (80.1%) it becomes clear the Icelandic labor market is operating above full capacity. Due to the extremely tight labor market Icelandic employers have been hiring workers from abroad in recent years.
At the same time as unemployment remains low wages continue to rise. Statistics Iceland report that the wage index for February rose by 0.4% compared to the previous month. Wages have risen by 4.2% in in the past 3 months, and 7.2% year-over-year. Calculated in real terms (which take rising consumer prices into consideration) wages have risen by 4.8% year-over-year.
