Unemployment at 4.1 per cent

Published:

Adjusted for seasonal variations, unemployed persons accounted for 4.1 per cent of the labour force in December, up 0.1 percentage points since September.

From September (average of August-October) to December (average of November-January), the seasonally-adjusted unemployment increased by 0.1 percentage points, or 2 000 persons. This change is clearly within the Labour Force Survey (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
Dec. 2006 2.8 2.84
Jan. 2007 2.7 2.72
Feb. 2007 2.6 2.63
Mar. 2007 2.6 2.58
Apr. 2007 2.6 2.55
May 2007 2.5 2.54
June 2007 2.5 2.54
July 2007 2.6 2.54
Aug. 2007 2.5 2.53
Sep. 2007 2.5 2.52
Oct. 2007 2.4 2.50
Nov. 2007 2.4 2.47
Dec. 2007 2.4 2.44
Jan. 2008 2.4 2.41
Feb. 2008 2.4 2.40
Mar. 2008 2.4 2.41
Apr. 2008 2.3 2.44
May 2008 2.4 2.48
June 2008 2.5 2.52
July 2008 2.5 2.56
Aug. 2008 2.5 2.60
Sep. 2008 2.6 2.65
Oct. 2008 2.7 2.72
Nov. 2008 2.9 2.79
Dec. 2008 2.9 2.87
Jan. 2009 3.0 2.95
Feb. 2009 3.0 3.00
Mar. 2009 3.1 3.03
Apr. 2009 3.1 3.05
May 2009 3.2 3.07
June 2009 3.1 3.09
July 2009 3.2 3.12
Aug. 2009 3.2 3.15
Sep. 2009 3.2 3.19
Oct. 2009 3.2 3.24
Nov. 2009 3.2 3.31
Dec. 2009 3.4 3.39
Jan. 2010 3.4 3.48
Feb. 2010 3.6 3.56
Mar. 2010 3.6 3.62
Apr. 2010 3.7 3.64
May 2010 3.7 3.64
June 2010 3.7 3.62
July 2010 3.6 3.60
Aug. 2010 3.5 3.58
Sep. 2010 3.6 3.54
Oct. 2010 3.5 3.49
Nov. 2010 3.6 3.41
Dec. 2010 3.4 3.34
Jan. 2011 3.3 3.29
Feb. 2011 3.1 3.29
Mar. 2011 3.3 3.31
Apr. 2011 3.4 3.34
May 2011 3.4 3.35
June 2011 3.4 3.34
July 2011 3.3 3.31
Aug. 2011 3.2 3.28
Sep. 2011 3.3 3.27
Oct. 2011 3.3 3.27
Nov. 2011 3.3 3.28
Dec. 2011 3.3 3.28
Jan. 2012 3.3 3.25
Feb. 2012 3.1 3.21
Mar. 2012 3.0 3.16
Apr. 2012 3.0 3.13
May 2012 3.2 3.11
June 2012 3.2 3.10
July 2012 3.1 3.10
Aug. 2012 3.1 3.12
Sep. 2012 3.1 3.16
Oct. 2012 3.2 3.21
Nov. 2012 3.5 3.28
Dec. 2012 3.6 3.35
Jan. 2013 3.6 3.41
Feb. 2013 3.5 3.45
Mar. 2013 3.7 3.46
Apr. 2013 3.5 3.46
May 2013 3.5 3.44
June 2013 3.4 3.41
July 2013 3.6 3.39
Aug. 2013 3.5 3.37
Sep. 2013 3.4 3.35
Oct. 2013 3.3 3.33
Nov. 2013 3.5 3.33
Dec. 2013 3.7 3.32
Jan. 2014 3.5 3.32
Feb. 2014 3.5 3.32
Mar. 2014 3.3 3.31
Apr. 2014 3.3 3.31
May 2014 3.2 3.33
June 2014 3.3 3.38
July 2014 3.4 3.46
Aug. 2014 3.7 3.55
Sep. 2014 3.7 3.66
Oct. 2014 3.8 3.77
Nov. 2014 3.8 3.87
Dec. 2014 3.8 3.96
Jan. 2015 4.0 4.04
Feb. 2015 4.1 4.11
Mar. 2015 4.2 4.17
Apr. 2015 4.2 4.21
May 2015 4.3 4.25
June 2015 4.4 4.31
July 2015 4.3 4.38
Aug. 2015 4.5 4.47
Sep. 2015 4.6 4.56
Oct. 2015 4.6 4.64
Nov. 2015 4.6 4.69
Dec. 2015 4.6 4.71
Jan. 2016 4.8 4.70
Feb. 2016 4.7 4.68
Mar. 2016 4.7 4.67
Apr. 2016 4.6 4.69
May 2016 4.7 4.73
June 2016 4.8 4.80
July 2016 5.0 4.85
Aug. 2016 4.9 4.87
Sep. 2016 4.8 4.83
Oct. 2016 4.8 4.74
Nov. 2016 4.7 4.62
Dec. 2016 4.4 4.51
Jan. 2017 4.2 4.43
Feb. 2017 4.4 4.38
Mar. 2017 4.5 4.35
Apr. 2017 4.5 4.33
May 2017 4.3 4.30
June 2017 4.3 4.25
July 2017 4.2 4.18
Aug. 2017 4.1 4.10
Sep. 2017 4.0 4.04
Oct. 2017 4.0 4.00
Nov. 2017 4.1 3.98
Dec. 2017 4.1 3.97

The number of people registered as unemployed or on government initiatives to promote employment with the Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV) decreased by 4 000 persons from September (average of August–October) to December (average of November–January).  

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
Dec. 2006 70 54 64
Jan. 2007 67 51 61
Feb. 2007 65 50 60
Mar. 2007 65 48 58
Apr. 2007 64 46 57
May 2007 62 45 55
June 2007 63 46 56
July 2007 65 47 57
Aug. 2007 63 46 56
Sep. 2007 62 45 55
Oct. 2007 61 44 54
Nov. 2007 62 43 53
Dec. 2007 62 42 52
Jan. 2008 62 40 50
Feb. 2008 63 40 50
Mar. 2008 61 40 49
Apr. 2008 60 38 49
May 2008 62 40 50
June 2008 64 40 51
July 2008 64 40 51
Aug. 2008 64 41 52
Sep. 2008 66 44 55
Oct. 2008 70 46 57
Nov. 2008 74 50 61
Dec. 2008 75 53 65
Jan. 2009 78 58 70
Feb. 2009 78 63 75
Mar. 2009 82 66 79
Apr. 2009 81 69 83
May 2009 83 71 86
June 2009 79 72 87
July 2009 83 73 90
Aug. 2009 84 73 90
Sep. 2009 82 71 90
Oct. 2009 83 72 91
Nov. 2009 83 71 91
Dec. 2009 87 71 91
Jan. 2010 89 74 93
Feb. 2010 93 74 93
Mar. 2010 93 75 93
Apr. 2010 97 76 94
May 2010 97 75 91
June 2010 96 75 91
July 2010 93 74 90
Aug. 2010 91 74 89
Sep. 2010 92 75 89
Oct. 2010 91 75 89
Nov. 2010 93 76 89
Dec. 2010 89 74 88
Jan. 2011 87 74 88
Feb. 2011 82 73 87
Mar. 2011 86 71 86
Apr. 2011 89 70 84
May 2011 90 69 84
June 2011 88 68 84
July 2011 86 68 84
Aug. 2011 84 69 85
Sep. 2011 87 68 85
Oct. 2011 88 68 85
Nov. 2011 88 67 84
Dec. 2011 87 67 84
Jan. 2012 87 65 83
Feb. 2012 84 66 83
Mar. 2012 81 65 82
Apr. 2012 81 65 82
May 2012 85 65 82
June 2012 85 67 84
July 2012 82 67 84
Aug. 2012 82 66 82
Sep. 2012 83 66 82
Oct. 2012 87 65 82
Nov. 2012 94 65 82
Dec. 2012 95 66 82
Jan. 2013 98 65 82
Feb. 2013 95 66 82
Mar. 2013 99 67 83
Apr. 2013 95 68 84
May 2013 95 70 86
June 2013 91 69 86
July 2013 97 70 87
Aug. 2013 94 71 87
Sep. 2013 93 72 88
Oct. 2013 90 72 89
Nov. 2013 95 73 89
Dec. 2013 100 74 89
Jan. 2014 96 74 89
Feb. 2014 94 74 90
Mar. 2014 91 74 90
Apr. 2014 91 74 88
May 2014 87 77 89
June 2014 89 76 88
July 2014 92 75 87
Aug. 2014 100 76 87
Sep. 2014 102 77 87
Oct. 2014 105 76 86
Nov. 2014 104 76 87
Dec. 2014 106 75 87
Jan. 2015 111 76 87
Feb. 2015 114 77 88
Mar. 2015 115 78 89
Apr. 2015 117 79 90
May 2015 118 79 91
June 2015 122 80 92
July 2015 119 81 95
Aug. 2015 126 82 96
Sep. 2015 129 83 97
Oct. 2015 129 84 98
Nov. 2015 128 84 99
Dec. 2015 128 84 99
Jan. 2016 134 85 101
Feb. 2016 131 85 101
Mar. 2016 130 86 101
Apr. 2016 128 84 100
May 2016 131 85 101
June 2016 133 84 102
July 2016 138 84 102
Aug. 2016 136 83 101
Sep. 2016 135 82 101
Oct. 2016 133 82 101
Nov. 2016 130 83 102
Dec. 2016 122 82 101
Jan. 2017 117 81 100
Feb. 2017 121 80 99
Mar. 2017 124 78 98
Apr. 2017 125 77 97
May 2017 120 75 96
June 2017 118 75 95
July 2017 115 74 93
Aug. 2017 114 72 92
Sept. 2017 111 72 91
Okt. 2017 110 70 89
Nov. 2017 114 69 88
Dec. 2017 113 69 87
Jan. 2018 66 84

Small changes in the number of employed persons

According to the LFS, the seasonally adjusted number of employed persons increased by 3 000 persons from September (average of August–October) to December (average of November–January). This change is within the LFS error margin.

During the last year, the number of employed persons has increased by 23 000 persons. Almost the entire increase is among those above 24 years.

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

Seasonally adjusted Trend
Dec. 2006 2393 2396
Jan. 2007 2402 2403
Feb. 2007 2410 2410
Mar. 2007 2415 2416
Apr. 2007 2422 2422
May 2007 2427 2428
June 2007 2435 2435
July 2007 2446 2443
Aug. 2007 2452 2451
Sep. 2007 2461 2460
Oct. 2007 2474 2468
Nov. 2007 2482 2476
Dec. 2007 2488 2483
Jan. 2008 2487 2489
Feb. 2008 2496 2493
Mar. 2008 2506 2497
Apr. 2008 2508 2500
May 2008 2509 2504
June 2008 2505 2508
July 2008 2516 2513
Aug. 2008 2528 2518
Sep. 2008 2528 2522
Oct. 2008 2525 2524
Nov. 2008 2523 2525
Dec. 2008 2527 2525
Jan. 2009 2525 2524
Feb. 2009 2522 2522
Mar. 2009 2518 2520
Apr. 2009 2516 2518
May 2009 2517 2514
June 2009 2518 2510
July 2009 2512 2506
Aug. 2009 2497 2502
Sep. 2009 2496 2500
Oct. 2009 2496 2497
Nov. 2009 2496 2496
Dec. 2009 2504 2494
Jan. 2010 2503 2494
Feb. 2010 2502 2495
Mar. 2010 2496 2498
Apr. 2010 2492 2501
May 2010 2508 2505
June 2010 2509 2508
July 2010 2514 2509
Aug. 2010 2507 2509
Sep. 2010 2503 2509
Oct. 2010 2508 2510
Nov. 2010 2517 2513
Dec. 2010 2520 2518
Jan. 2011 2521 2522
Feb. 2011 2527 2527
Mar. 2011 2533 2529
Apr. 2011 2537 2532
May 2011 2529 2534
June 2011 2537 2538
July 2011 2540 2542
Aug. 2011 2553 2546
Sep. 2011 2553 2552
Oct. 2011 2558 2558
Nov. 2011 2564 2565
Dec. 2011 2571 2571
Jan. 2012 2580 2578
Feb. 2012 2587 2584
Mar. 2012 2589 2589
Apr. 2012 2598 2592
May 2012 2595 2594
June 2012 2588 2596
July 2012 2586 2597
Aug. 2012 2592 2598
Sep. 2012 2603 2598
Oct. 2012 2602 2597
Nov. 2012 2592 2596
Dec. 2012 2593 2595
Jan. 2013 2592 2594
Feb. 2013 2599 2595
Mar. 2013 2598 2597
Apr. 2013 2598 2600
May 2013 2603 2604
June 2013 2608 2608
July 2013 2610 2611
Aug. 2013 2614 2614
Sep. 2013 2618 2616
Oct. 2013 2624 2618
Nov. 2013 2622 2620
Dec. 2013 2620 2622
Jan. 2014 2624 2625
Feb. 2014 2623 2627
Mar. 2014 2634 2630
Apr. 2014 2635 2633
May 2014 2640 2635
June 2014 2633 2636
July 2014 2638 2637
Aug. 2014 2633 2637
Sep. 2014 2635 2637
Oct. 2014 2632 2638
Nov. 2014 2653 2640
Dec. 2014 2658 2642
Jan. 2015 2656 2644
Feb. 2015 2645 2646
Mar. 2015 2644 2648
Apr. 2015 2649 2650
May 2015 2655 2653
June 2015 2652 2657
July 2015 2651 2660
Aug. 2015 2652 2662
Sep. 2015 2646 2663
Oct. 2015 2650 2664
Nov. 2015 2651 2664
Dec. 2015 2664 2663
Jan. 2016 2663 2661
Feb. 2016 2660 2659
Mar. 2016 2652 2656
Apr. 2016 2648 2652
May 2016 2639 2650
June 2016 2645 2648
July 2016 2648 2647
Aug. 2016 2651 2646
Sep. 2016 2658 2645
Oct. 2016 2650 2644
Nov. 2016 2640 2642
Dec. 2016 2639 2641
Jan. 2017 2639 2640
Feb. 2017 2646 2640
Mar. 2017 2646 2641
Apr. 2017 2646 2643
May 2017 2652 2646
June 2017 2647 2648
July 2017 2652 2650
Aug. 2017 2652 2652
Sep. 2017 2658 2654
Oct. 2017 2662 2657
Nov. 2017 2660 2660
Dec. 2017 2661 2664

Read also on ssb.no

Statistics