Unemployment continues to decline

Employment in Norway increased by 46,000 from third quarter last year to third quarter this year, while unemployment dropped by 20,000. During the same period, the number of long-term unemployed went down from 24,000 to 12,000.

The percentage of the population (16 to 74 years of age) that is economically active is 73.8 per cent, compared to 73.3 per cent in the same quarter last year.

Labour force participation increased by 0.6 percentage points for women and 0.4 per cent for men and grew in youngest and oldest age groups. The biggest increase was among women aged 16 to 19.

Employment rose in most industries, with the biggest increases seen in building and construction and financial, real estate and business services. On the other hand, manufacturing jobs declined from third quarter last year to the same quarter this year.

Fewer unemployed and underemployed

Altogether 74,000 people were unemployed in the third quarter. The unemployed accounted for 3.2 per cent of the labour force, compared to 4.1 per cent in third quarter 1997. During the same period, unemployment declined from 3.9 per cent to 2.8 per cent for men and from 4.3 per cent to 3.6 per cent for women.

The number of long-term unemployed went down by 12,000. The long-term unemployed are persons who at the time of the survey have been without a job for a consecutive period of more than six months. They accounted for 17 per cent of all unemployed compared with 25 per cent in the same quarter last year.

Unemployment among young people from 16 to 24 is still high. Last year, it was reduced from 10.4 to 8.5 per cent for men and from 10.6 to 10.0 per cent for women in this age group.

The number of underemployed totalled 78,000 in the third quarter of this year, a decline of 9,000 from the same quarter last year. Underemployed persons are part-time employees seeking more work. Four in five underemployed persons are women.

New Statistics
Labour Force Survey, 3rd quarter 1998.
The statistics are published quarterly in the Weekly Bulletin of Statistics. Detailed figures are published in the Labour Force Survey basic tables. For more information, contact: Ole.Sandvik@ssb.no, tel. +47 21 09 45 77, or Inger.Haland@ssb.no, tel. +47 21 09 47 80.

Weekly Bulletin issue no. 44, 1998