Unemployment at 3.8 per cent

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Adjusted for seasonal variations, there were 106 000 unemployed persons in May. This accounts for 3.8 per cent of the labour force, down 0.1 percentage points from February.

Written by: Ole Sandvik / Ingebjørg Aamodt

The seasonally-adjusted unemployment decreased by 1 000 persons from February (average of January-March) to May (average of April-June), this change is clearly within the Labour Force Survey (LFS) margin of error.

From May 2017 to May 2018 the unemployment rate has decreased from 4.4 to 3.8 per cent. This change is outside the LFS margin of error.

Figure 1. Unemployment (LFS). Seasonally adjusted figures and trend figures. Three-month moving average. Per cent of the labour force

Seasonally adjusted Trend
May 2006 3.7 3.60
June 2006 3.5 3.51
July 2006 3.5 3.42
Aug. 2006 3.3 3.31
Sep. 2006 3.1 3.19
Oct. 2006 2.9 3.05
Nov. 2006 2.8 2.92
Dec. 2006 2.9 2.80
Jan. 2007 2.8 2.70
Feb. 2007 2.7 2.63
Mar. 2007 2.6 2.57
Apr. 2007 2.5 2.53
May 2007 2.5 2.50
June 2007 2.5 2.49
July 2007 2.6 2.49
Aug. 2007 2.5 2.50
Sep. 2007 2.5 2.51
Oct. 2007 2.4 2.51
Nov. 2007 2.5 2.50
Dec. 2007 2.5 2.48
Jan. 2008 2.5 2.47
Feb. 2008 2.5 2.48
Mar. 2008 2.4 2.51
Apr. 2008 2.4 2.56
May 2008 2.6 2.62
June 2008 2.7 2.69
July 2008 2.8 2.76
Aug. 2008 2.8 2.82
Sep. 2008 2.9 2.88
Oct. 2008 3.0 2.92
Nov. 2008 3.1 2.97
Dec. 2008 3.1 3.01
Jan. 2009 3.1 3.06
Feb. 2009 3.0 3.11
Mar. 2009 3.1 3.16
Apr. 2009 3.2 3.20
May 2009 3.3 3.23
June 2009 3.3 3.24
July 2009 3.3 3.24
Aug. 2009 3.3 3.26
Sep. 2009 3.3 3.30
Oct. 2009 3.4 3.36
Nov. 2009 3.5 3.46
Dec. 2009 3.6 3.56
Jan. 2010 3.6 3.66
Feb. 2010 3.9 3.74
Mar. 2010 3.8 3.78
Apr. 2010 3.9 3.81
May 2010 3.9 3.82
June 2010 3.8 3.81
July 2010 3.8 3.79
Aug. 2010 3.6 3.75
Sep. 2010 3.7 3.67
Oct. 2010 3.6 3.56
Nov. 2010 3.7 3.45
Dec. 2010 3.5 3.34
Jan. 2011 3.4 3.28
Feb. 2011 3.2 3.27
Mar. 2011 3.3 3.30
Apr. 2011 3.4 3.34
May 2011 3.4 3.37
June 2011 3.4 3.39
July 2011 3.4 3.38
Aug. 2011 3.4 3.37
Sep. 2011 3.5 3.37
Oct. 2011 3.5 3.39
Nov. 2011 3.5 3.42
Dec. 2011 3.5 3.43
Jan. 2012 3.5 3.42
Feb. 2012 3.2 3.39
Mar. 2012 3.1 3.33
Apr. 2012 3.1 3.27
May 2012 3.2 3.22
June 2012 3.2 3.20
July 2012 3.2 3.22
Aug. 2012 3.2 3.27
Sep. 2012 3.3 3.34
Oct. 2012 3.4 3.42
Nov. 2012 3.6 3.49
Dec. 2012 3.5 3.56
Jan. 2013 3.7 3.63
Feb. 2013 3.7 3.68
Mar. 2013 3.8 3.71
Apr. 2013 3.8 3.73
May 2013 3.7 3.73
June 2013 3.6 3.72
July 2013 3.7 3.71
Aug. 2013 3.8 3.69
Sep. 2013 3.8 3.69
Oct. 2013 3.7 3.69
Nov. 2013 3.8 3.69
Dec. 2013 4.0 3.67
Jan. 2014 3.7 3.63
Feb. 2014 3.5 3.58
Mar. 2014 3.4 3.52
Apr. 2014 3.4 3.48
May 2014 3.3 3.48
June 2014 3.5 3.52
July 2014 3.6 3.59
Aug. 2014 3.8 3.67
Sep. 2014 3.8 3.75
Oct. 2014 3.9 3.83
Nov. 2014 3.8 3.90
Dec. 2014 3.9 3.98
Jan. 2015 4.1 4.07
Feb. 2015 4.3 4.16
Mar. 2015 4.4 4.26
Apr. 2015 4.3 4.35
May 2015 4.4 4.43
June 2015 4.7 4.51
July 2015 4.6 4.59
Aug. 2015 4.6 4.67
Sep. 2015 4.5 4.75
Oct. 2015 4.6 4.81
Nov. 2015 4.8 4.84
Dec. 2015 4.8 4.85
Jan. 2016 5.1 4.83
Feb. 2016 4.9 4.79
Mar. 2016 4.9 4.76
Apr. 2016 4.8 4.75
May 2016 4.8 4.76
June 2016 4.8 4.79
July 2016 4.8 4.81
Aug. 2016 4.8 4.80
Sep. 2016 4.8 4.75
Oct. 2016 4.7 4.66
Nov. 2016 4.5 4.56
Dec. 2016 4.3 4.47
Jan. 2017 4.1 4.42
Feb. 2017 4.3 4.41
Mar. 2017 4.4 4.41
Apr. 2017 4.5 4.41
May 2017 4.4 4.38
June 2017 4.3 4.31
July 2017 4.2 4.21
Aug. 2017 4.1 4.12
Sep. 2017 4.0 4.05
Oct. 2017 4.0 4.01
Nov. 2017 4.0 4.00
Dec. 2017 4.0 3.99
Jan. 2018 4.0 3.99
Feb. 2018 3.9 3.97
Mar. 2018 3.9 3.94
Apr. 2018 3.7 3.91
May 2018 3.8 3.87

The number of people registered as unemployed or on government initiatives to promote employment with the Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV) decreased by 3 000 persons from February (average of January-March) to May (average of April-June).

1 These figures are monthly and not three-month moving average.

Figure 2. Unemployed (LFS), registered unemployed and registered unemployed plus government measures to promote employment. Seasonally adjusted figures, three-month moving average

Unemployed (LFS) 15-74 years Registered unemployed¹ Registered unemployed + government measures¹
May 2006 90 64 73
June 2006 86 64 73
July 2006 85 63 74
Aug. 2006 81 63 73
Sep. 2006 76 61 70
Oct. 2006 71 58 68
Nov. 2006 69 56 66
Dec. 2006 71 54 64
Jan. 2007 69 51 61
Feb. 2007 67 50 60
Mar. 2007 65 48 58
Apr. 2007 63 46 57
May 2007 61 45 55
June 2007 63 46 56
July 2007 64 47 57
Aug. 2007 63 46 56
Sep. 2007 62 45 55
Oct. 2007 61 44 54
Nov. 2007 63 43 53
Dec. 2007 64 42 52
Jan. 2008 63 40 50
Feb. 2008 63 40 50
Mar. 2008 61 40 49
Apr. 2008 62 38 49
May 2008 67 40 50
June 2008 71 40 51
July 2008 72 40 51
Aug. 2008 74 41 52
Sep. 2008 75 44 55
Oct. 2008 77 46 57
Nov. 2008 79 50 61
Dec. 2008 79 53 65
Jan. 2009 81 58 70
Feb. 2009 79 63 75
Mar. 2009 81 66 79
Apr. 2009 83 69 83
May 2009 86 71 86
June 2009 85 72 87
July 2009 86 73 90
Aug. 2009 84 73 90
Sep. 2009 84 71 90
Oct. 2009 88 72 91
Nov. 2009 90 71 91
Dec. 2009 94 71 91
Jan. 2010 93 74 93
Feb. 2010 100 74 93
Mar. 2010 99 75 93
Apr. 2010 100 76 94
May 2010 100 75 91
June 2010 100 75 91
July 2010 98 74 90
Aug. 2010 95 74 89
Sep. 2010 96 75 89
Oct. 2010 94 75 89
Nov. 2010 97 76 89
Dec. 2010 92 74 88
Jan. 2011 89 74 88
Feb. 2011 83 73 87
Mar. 2011 87 71 86
Apr. 2011 89 70 84
May 2011 90 69 84
June 2011 89 68 84
July 2011 91 68 84
Aug. 2011 89 69 85
Sep. 2011 93 68 85
Oct. 2011 91 68 85
Nov. 2011 93 67 84
Dec. 2011 92 67 84
Jan. 2012 93 65 83
Feb. 2012 86 66 83
Mar. 2012 82 65 82
Apr. 2012 82 65 82
May 2012 86 65 82
June 2012 86 67 83
July 2012 84 67 84
Aug. 2012 85 66 82
Sep. 2012 90 66 82
Oct. 2012 92 65 82
Nov. 2012 96 65 82
Dec. 2012 95 66 82
Jan. 2013 98 65 82
Feb. 2013 99 66 82
Mar. 2013 101 67 83
Apr. 2013 101 68 84
May 2013 101 70 86
June 2013 98 69 86
July 2013 102 70 87
Aug. 2013 103 71 87
Sep. 2013 103 72 88
Oct. 2013 100 72 89
Nov. 2013 104 73 89
Dec. 2013 108 74 89
Jan. 2014 101 74 89
Feb. 2014 96 74 90
Mar. 2014 91 74 90
Apr. 2014 93 73 88
May 2014 89 77 89
June 2014 95 76 88
July 2014 97 75 87
Aug. 2014 104 76 87
Sep. 2014 103 77 87
Oct. 2014 107 76 86
Nov. 2014 105 76 87
Dec. 2014 108 75 87
Jan. 2015 114 76 87
Feb. 2015 118 77 88
Mar. 2015 120 78 89
Apr. 2015 118 78 90
May 2015 123 79 90
June 2015 129 80 92
July 2015 127 81 95
Aug. 2015 127 82 96
Sep. 2015 125 83 97
Oct. 2015 128 84 98
Nov. 2015 132 84 99
Dec. 2015 132 84 99
Jan. 2016 142 86 101
Feb. 2016 137 86 101
Mar. 2016 137 86 101
Apr. 2016 132 84 100
May 2016 132 85 101
June 2016 132 84 102
July 2016 133 84 102
Aug. 2016 133 83 101
Sep. 2016 133 82 101
Oct. 2016 130 82 101
Nov. 2016 124 83 102
Dec. 2016 117 82 101
Jan. 2017 113 81 100
Feb. 2017 118 80 99
Mar. 2017 122 78 98
Apr. 2017 124 77 97
May 2017 123 75 96
June 2017 119 74 94
July 2017 116 74 93
Aug. 2017 113 72 92
Sep. 2017 112 72 91
Oct. 2017 110 70 89
Nov. 2017 112 69 88
Dec. 2017 112 69 87
Jan. 2018 111 66 84
Feb. 2018 108 66 84
Mar. 2018 108 66 84
Apr. 2018 104 66 83
May 2018 106 64 81
June 2018 63 80

Increase in the employment rate the last year

According to the LFS, the seasonally adjusted number of employed persons increased by 9 000 persons from February (average of January–March) to May (average of April–June). This change is within the LFS error margin.

During the last year, the number of employed persons has increased by 44 000 persons. This corresponds to an increase from 66.7 to 67.4 in the employment rate. This change is outside the LFS margin of error.

Figure 3. Employment (LFS). Seasonally adjusted figures and trend figures. Three-month moving average

Seasonally adjusted Trend
May 2006 2339 2346
June 2006 2350 2353
July 2006 2364 2361
Aug. 2006 2373 2369
Sep. 2006 2379 2377
Oct. 2006 2384 2383
Nov. 2006 2389 2390
Dec. 2006 2392 2395
Jan. 2007 2398 2400
Feb. 2007 2405 2405
Mar. 2007 2407 2411
Apr. 2007 2414 2417
May 2007 2424 2424
June 2007 2432 2432
July 2007 2443 2439
Aug. 2007 2445 2447
Sep. 2007 2454 2455
Oct. 2007 2464 2463
Nov. 2007 2474 2471
Dec. 2007 2481 2479
Jan. 2008 2488 2486
Feb. 2008 2496 2492
Mar. 2008 2500 2497
Apr. 2008 2501 2500
May 2008 2502 2502
June 2008 2505 2505
July 2008 2512 2507
Aug. 2008 2517 2508
Sep. 2008 2510 2510
Oct. 2008 2504 2511
Nov. 2008 2504 2512
Dec. 2008 2511 2512
Jan. 2009 2508 2511
Feb. 2009 2510 2510
Mar. 2009 2511 2508
Apr. 2009 2511 2505
May 2009 2505 2502
June 2009 2502 2497
July 2009 2497 2493
Aug. 2009 2488 2489
Sep. 2009 2485 2486
Oct. 2009 2482 2484
Nov. 2009 2480 2483
Dec. 2009 2483 2482
Jan. 2010 2488 2482
Feb. 2010 2486 2484
Mar. 2010 2481 2486
Apr. 2010 2479 2488
May 2010 2494 2491
June 2010 2504 2495
July 2010 2505 2498
Aug. 2010 2503 2501
Sep. 2010 2501 2504
Oct. 2010 2509 2508
Nov. 2010 2508 2512
Dec. 2010 2512 2516
Jan. 2011 2513 2520
Feb. 2011 2520 2524
Mar. 2011 2525 2527
Apr. 2011 2532 2531
May 2011 2533 2536
June 2011 2540 2540
July 2011 2541 2545
Aug. 2011 2554 2549
Sep. 2011 2552 2553
Oct. 2011 2554 2556
Nov. 2011 2557 2560
Dec. 2011 2564 2564
Jan. 2012 2569 2569
Feb. 2012 2574 2574
Mar. 2012 2579 2578
Apr. 2012 2586 2580
May 2012 2581 2580
June 2012 2578 2580
July 2012 2577 2581
Aug. 2012 2587 2582
Sep. 2012 2595 2584
Oct. 2012 2594 2586
Nov. 2012 2590 2587
Dec. 2012 2588 2589
Jan. 2013 2588 2590
Feb. 2013 2593 2591
Mar. 2013 2596 2592
Apr. 2013 2594 2594
May 2013 2592 2597
June 2013 2601 2600
July 2013 2609 2604
Aug. 2013 2613 2608
Sep. 2013 2610 2610
Oct. 2013 2618 2611
Nov. 2013 2613 2611
Dec. 2013 2608 2611
Jan. 2014 2608 2612
Feb. 2014 2612 2613
Mar. 2014 2626 2616
Apr. 2014 2626 2619
May 2014 2631 2621
June 2014 2621 2622
July 2014 2626 2622
Aug. 2014 2625 2622
Sep. 2014 2625 2624
Oct. 2014 2620 2627
Nov. 2014 2632 2630
Dec. 2014 2640 2634
Jan. 2015 2643 2636
Feb. 2015 2638 2638
Mar. 2015 2637 2639
Apr. 2015 2644 2641
May 2015 2647 2643
June 2015 2638 2645
July 2015 2637 2646
Aug. 2015 2639 2645
Sep. 2015 2641 2644
Oct. 2015 2639 2643
Nov. 2015 2635 2642
Dec. 2015 2645 2641
Jan. 2016 2647 2641
Feb. 2016 2644 2641
Mar. 2016 2639 2641
Apr. 2016 2636 2641
May 2016 2634 2640
June 2016 2637 2640
July 2016 2641 2640
Aug. 2016 2644 2640
Sep. 2016 2649 2640
Oct. 2016 2643 2640
Nov. 2016 2634 2639
Dec. 2016 2635 2638
Jan. 2017 2632 2636
Feb. 2017 2639 2635
Mar. 2017 2639 2635
Apr. 2017 2640 2636
May 2017 2643 2638
June 2017 2638 2641
July 2017 2644 2644
Aug. 2017 2648 2647
Sep. 2017 2655 2651
Oct. 2017 2660 2655
Nov. 2017 2654 2660
Dec. 2017 2656 2665
Jan. 2018 2663 2670
Feb. 2018 2677 2674
Mar. 2018 2679 2678
Apr. 2018 2679 2682
May 2018 2686 2685

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