Still fewer unemployed immigrants

According to new figures from the statistics Registered unemployment among immigrants, around 27 200 immigrants were registered as unemployed at the end of February 2017, which is the reference time of the 2nd quarter. This constitutes 38 per cent of the registered unemployed in total.

Increase among participants on labour market schemes

While the number of unemployed immigrants fell, the number who participated in labour market schemes went up by 1 655 from May 2016 to May 2017, which constituted a growth of 20.5 per cent within this participant group. In total, 36 885 immigrants were registered as unemployed or participants of labour market schemes (i.e. the gross unemployment) in the 2nd quarter of 2017. This constitutes a gross unemployment rate of 8.3 per cent among immigrants (as a percentage of the labour force). This rate went down by 0.5 percentage points from 2016 to 2017. The gross unemployment rate within the rest of the population was 2.4 per cent in February 2017, which was 0.2 percentage point lower compared to 2016.

African immigrants still have the highest unemployment rate

There was a decline in the unemployment rate within almost all the immigrant groups from May 2016 to May 2017. The groups from the EU countries in Eastern Europe and Latin America had the strongest fall, 1.4 and 1.3 percentage points respectively. Also, immigrants from Eastern Europe outside the EU and Africa experienced a certain reduction, both groups at 1.1 percentage points. Apart from the group from North-America and Oceania, which had a marginal growth, there was a decrease among the remaining groups between 0.5 and 0.8 percentage points.

African immigrants still represent the group with the highest unemployment rate, at 10 per cent in May 2017, which is due to the large percentage of refugees within this group. Next were immigrants from the EU countries in Eastern Europe at 6.9 per cent. Then came immigrants from Asia and Latin America at 6.6 and 6.4 percent registered unemployed respectively, while immigrants from Eastern Europe outside the EU had an unemployment rate at 5.5 per cent. As usual, the remaining groups had rates far below the immigrant average: Western Europe (3.5 per cent), North-America and Oceania (3.2 per cent) and the Nordic countries (2.5 per cent).

Almost equalization between immigrant men and women

Men experienced a stronger decrease than women. Among immigrants the fall was respectively 1.1 and 0.7 percentage points, while in the rest of the population the decrease was respectively 0.4 and 0.2 percentage points. The registered unemployment rate among men and women in the immigrant population was approximately levelled out in the second quarter. The shares were respectively 6.1 and 6.0 per cent. In the rest of the population, men’s unemployment rate is somewhat larger than women’s, 2.2 versus 1.5 percent.

Lower unemployment among Norwegian-born to immigrant parents than immigrants

Norwegian-born to immigrant parents is still a rather small group of unemployed persons. This group constituted 978 registered unemployed persons in the 2nd quarter of 2017. In this group, two thirds are between 15 and 29 years old, and among them the unemployment rate was at 3.2 per cent. In comparison, the registered unemployment rate was a 6.5 per cent among immigrants and at 2.5 per cent in the rest of the population at the age of 15-29 years.

Both groups with immigrant background between the ages 15-29 experienced a decrease of about 1 percentage point compared to the second quarter last year, while the unemployment rate decreased by 0.6 percentage points among the rest of the population within the same age group.