Unemployment at 4.6 per cent

Published:

Adjusted for seasonal variations, there were 126 000 unemployed persons in April. This corresponded to 4.6 per cent of the labour force, up 0.3 percentage points from January.

From January (average of December – February) to April (average of March – May), the seasonally-adjusted unemployment increased by 0.3 percentage points, or 10 000 persons. This change is within the Labour Force Survey (LFS) margin of error.

As shown in figure 1, the unemployment increased in 2015 to a peak of 4.9 per cent in the middle of 2016. After that, the unemployment has decreased somewhat. The increase shown by the most recent figures are within the LFS margin of error.

Figure 1

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

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 January (average of December – February) to April (average of March – May).

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

Unemployed (LFS) 16-74 years Unemployed (LFS) 15-74 years Registered unemployed¹ Registered unemployed + government measures¹
Apr. 1989 112 87 114
May 1989 115 89 119
June 1989 118 89 126
July 1989 113 84 124
Aug. 1989 118 87 129
Sep. 1989 123 91 132
Oct. 1989 126 94 137
Nov. 1989 127 96 139
Dec. 1989 125 97 138
Jan. 1990 129 98 140
Feb. 1990 128 99 138
Mar. 1990 125 99 140
Apr. 1990 121 100 138
May 1990 124 98 137
June 1990 127 98 136
July 1990 126 97 136
Aug. 1990 124 101 139
Sep. 1990 120 99 139
Oct. 1990 122 98 138
Nov. 1990 122 96 137
Dec. 1990 126 98 140
Jan. 1991 124 99 144
Feb. 1991 124 101 149
Mar. 1991 126 102 151
Apr. 1991 126 101 152
May 1991 121 103 154
June 1991 124 105 155
July 1991 127 107 156
Aug. 1991 132 110 159
Sep. 1991 127 112 160
Oct. 1991 132 113 163
Nov. 1991 139 117 164
Dec. 1991 145 117 164
Jan. 1992 140 117 167
Feb. 1992 138 117 167
Mar. 1992 134 119 169
Apr. 1992 140 124 174
May 1992 139 122 173
June 1992 141 121 170
July 1992 140 122 174
Aug. 1992 141 120 174
Sep. 1992 142 121 177
Oct. 1992 144 122 180
Nov. 1992 143 124 182
Dec. 1992 141 128 186
Jan. 1993 140 125 187
Feb. 1993 141 126 188
Mar. 1993 145 125 186
Apr. 1993 145 130 191
May 1993 141 125 187
June 1993 142 127 187
July 1993 142 126 188
Aug. 1993 146 126 189
Sep. 1993 145 124 187
Oct. 1993 144 124 187
Nov. 1993 137 124 186
Dec. 1993 129 124 184
Jan. 1994 128 122 182
Feb. 1994 128 120 180
Mar. 1994 128 122 183
Apr. 1994 131 117 181
May 1994 133 118 182
June 1994 131 122 181
July 1994 128 117 176
Aug. 1994 126 116 175
Sep. 1994 129 115 174
Oct. 1994 129 114 171
Nov. 1994 130 112 168
Dec. 1994 131 110 164
Jan. 1995 130 114 165
Feb. 1995 130 115 164
Mar. 1995 128 111 159
Apr. 1995 124 108 156
May 1995 121 110 157
June 1995 119 113 160
July 1995 117 109 155
Aug. 1995 116 108 155
Sep. 1995 114 107 153
Oct. 1995 114 104 151
Nov. 1995 110 103 151
Dec. 1995 113 100 147
Jan. 1996 107 100 147
Feb. 1996 112 99 146
Mar. 1996 110 99 144
Apr. 1996 111 99 142
May 1996 108 101 140
June 1996 105 99 137
July 1996 107 98 136
Aug. 1996 107 96 133
Sep. 1996 105 94 130
Oct. 1996 103 93 128
Nov. 1996 105 92 125
Dec. 1996 104 89 124
Jan. 1997 103 87 120
Feb. 1997 95 84 116
Mar. 1997 93 85 115
Apr. 1997 94 82 111
May 1997 98 82 109
June 1997 99 79 105
July 1997 95 77 102
Aug. 1997 91 77 100
Sep. 1997 89 76 99
Oct. 1997 86 72 95
Nov. 1997 84 68 92
Dec. 1997 80 66 91
Jan. 1998 78 65 88
Feb. 1998 74 64 86
Mar. 1998 76 62 84
Apr. 1998 79 61 82
May 1998 79 59 79
June 1998 80 59 79
July 1998 76 57 74
Aug. 1998 73 57 73
Sep. 1998 67 58 72
Oct. 1998 68 58 71
Nov. 1998 70 59 70
Dec. 1998 66 60 70
Jan. 1999 65 58 66
Feb. 1999 65 57 66
Mar. 1999 69 58 66
Apr. 1999 70 59 67
May 1999 72 56 65
June 1999 73 59 68
July 1999 75 60 71
Aug. 1999 77 62 71
Sep. 1999 85 61 69
Oct. 1999 87 62 69
Nov. 1999 85 61 70
Dec. 1999 85 62 70
Jan. 2000 85 61 71
Feb. 2000 86 62 72
Mar. 2000 84 62 73
Apr. 2000 81 62 73
May 2000 76 64 74
June 2000 75 63 74
July 2000 78 63 76
Aug. 2000 80 63 75
Sep. 2000 79 61 75
Oct. 2000 78 63 76
Nov. 2000 81 63 75
Dec. 2000 83 64 75
Jan. 2001 84 62 74
Feb. 2001 81 62 73
Mar. 2001 79 61 73
Apr. 2001 77 60 71
May 2001 82 60 70
June 2001 86 60 71
July 2001 86 61 71
Aug. 2001 84 62 71
Sep. 2001 87 63 72
Oct. 2001 90 64 72
Nov. 2001 87 69 77
Dec. 2001 87 68 77
Jan. 2002 87 68 78
Feb. 2002 92 68 77
Mar. 2002 91 70 78
Apr. 2002 93 71 80
May 2002 92 73 82
June 2002 89 74 84
July 2002 88 75 85
Aug. 2002 89 77 86
Sep. 2002 92 79 88
Oct. 2002 94 81 90
Nov. 2002 97 83 92
Dec. 2002 98 83 93
Jan. 2003 101 86 98
Feb. 2003 101 88 99
Mar. 2003 103 90 102
Apr. 2003 106 93 104
May 2003 109 94 106
June 2003 111 95 109
July 2003 109 93 109
Aug. 2003 110 95 111
Sep. 2003 109 95 112
Oct. 2003 107 94 111
Nov. 2003 109 93 111
Dec. 2003 109 95 112
Jan. 2004 105 93 111
Feb. 2004 103 93 111
Mar. 2004 102 91 111
Apr. 2004 104 92 111
May 2004 107 93 110
June 2004 106 91 108
July 2004 106 93 109
Aug. 2004 107 92 107
Sep. 2004 107 91 106
Oct. 2004 107 91 106
Nov. 2004 107 90 106
Dec. 2004 106 89 105
Jan. 2005 107 88 104
Feb. 2005 108 88 103
Mar. 2005 112 88 103
Apr. 2005 112 86 101
May 2005 112 85 99
June 2005 113 84 98
July 2005 118 84 97
Aug. 2005 114 82 94
Sep. 2005 112 81 93
Oct. 2005 111 81 91
Nov. 2005 109 78 88
Dec. 2005 104 77 87
Jan. 2006 98 73 84
Feb. 2006 94 93 68 80
Mar. 2006 93 67 78
Apr. 2006 91 65 75
May 2006 92 64 73
June 2006 88 64 73
July 2006 86 63 73
Aug. 2006 82 63 73
Sep. 2006 76 61 70
Oct. 2006 72 58 68
Nov. 2006 69 56 66
Dec. 2006 70 54 64
Jan. 2007 67 51 61
Feb. 2007 65 50 60
Mars 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 49
Mars 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 53
Sep. 2008 66 44 56
Oct. 2008 70 46 58
Nov. 2008 74 50 61
Dec. 2008 75 53 65
Jan. 2009 78 58 70
Feb. 2009 78 63 75
Mars 2009 82 66 79
Apr. 2009 81 69 83
May 2009 83 71 86
June 2009 79 72 87
July 2009 83 73 89
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 94
Mars 2010 93 75 94
Apr. 2010 97 76 94
May 2010 97 75 91
June 2010 96 75 90
July 2010 93 74 89
Aug. 2010 91 74 89
Sep. 2010 92 75 89
Oct. 2010 90 75 89
Nov. 2010 93 76 89
Dec. 2010 89 74 88
Jan. 2011 87 74 88
Feb. 2011 82 73 87
Mars 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
Mars 2012 81 65 82
Apr. 2012 81 65 82
May 2012 85 65 82
June 2012 85 67 83
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
Mars 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
Mars 2014 91 74 90
Apr. 2014 92 74 87
May 2014 87 77 89
June 2014 89 76 88
July 2014 92 75 88
Aug. 2014 100 76 87
Sep. 2014 101 77 87
Oct. 2014 104 76 87
Nov. 2014 104 76 87
Dec. 2014 106 75 87
Jan. 2015 110 76 87
Feb. 2015 114 77 88
Mars 2015 115 78 89
Apr. 2015 117 78 90
May 2015 119 79 90
June 2015 122 80 92
July 2015 119 81 95
Aug. 2015 126 82 96
Sep. 2015 128 83 97
Oct. 2015 129 84 98
Nov. 2015 127 84 99
Dec. 2015 128 84 99
Jan. 2016 134 85 101
Feb. 2016 131 85 101
Mars 2016 130 86 101
Apr. 2016 129 84 100
May 2016 131 85 101
June 2016 133 84 102
July 2016 138 84 102
Aug. 2016 136 83 101
Sep. 2016 134 82 101
Oct. 2016 132 82 101
Nov. 2016 130 83 102
Dec. 2016 122 82 101
Jan. 2017 117 81 100
Feb. 2017 120 80 99
Mar. 2017 124 78 98
Apr. 2017 126 77 97
May 2017 75 95

Small changes in the number of employed persons

According to the LFS, the seasonally adjusted number of employed persons increased by 13 000 persons from January (average of December – February) to April (average of March – May). This change is within the LFS margin of error.

As shown in figure 3, there have only been small changes in the number of employed persons since the turn of the year 2014/2015. In this period, the population aged 15–74 years has increased. Therefore, the employment rate has decreased, from 68.5 per cent in January (average of December – February) 2015 to 67.0 per cent in April (average of March – May) 2017.

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

Seasonally adjusted Trend
Apr. 2006 2343 2348
May 2006 2348 2353
June 2006 2357 2357
July 2006 2365 2362
Aug. 2006 2373 2368
Sep. 2006 2377 2374
Oct. 2006 2382 2381
Nov. 2006 2387 2388
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 2499
Oct. 2009 2496 2497
Nov. 2009 2496 2496
Dec. 2009 2504 2494
Jan. 2010 2503 2494
Feb. 2010 2502 2495
Mar. 2010 2497 2498
Apr. 2010 2492 2502
May 2010 2508 2505
June 2010 2509 2508
July 2010 2515 2509
Aug. 2010 2507 2508
Sep. 2010 2503 2508
Oct. 2010 2508 2510
Nov. 2010 2517 2513
Dec. 2010 2519 2518
Jan. 2011 2521 2522
Feb. 2011 2527 2526
Mar. 2011 2534 2529
Apr. 2011 2537 2532
May 2011 2530 2535
June 2011 2537 2538
July 2011 2540 2542
Aug. 2011 2553 2546
Sep. 2011 2553 2552
Oct. 2011 2558 2558
Nov. 2011 2563 2564
Dec. 2011 2570 2571
Jan. 2012 2580 2578
Feb. 2012 2587 2584
Mar. 2012 2589 2589
Apr. 2012 2598 2593
May 2012 2596 2595
June 2012 2588 2597
July 2012 2587 2598
Aug. 2012 2592 2599
Sep. 2012 2603 2600
Oct. 2012 2602 2599
Nov. 2012 2591 2597
Dec. 2012 2592 2596
Jan. 2013 2591 2595
Feb. 2013 2600 2596
Mar. 2013 2599 2597
Apr. 2013 2599 2601
May 2013 2603 2604
June 2013 2608 2608
July 2013 2610 2611
Aug. 2013 2614 2614
Sep. 2013 2618 2617
Oct. 2013 2624 2618
Nov. 2013 2621 2620
Dec. 2013 2620 2622
Jan. 2014 2624 2625
Feb. 2014 2623 2627
Mar. 2014 2635 2630
Apr. 2014 2635 2633
May 2014 2641 2635
June 2014 2633 2636
July 2014 2638 2636
Aug. 2014 2633 2636
Sep. 2014 2635 2637
Oct. 2014 2632 2638
Nov. 2014 2652 2640
Dec. 2014 2658 2642
Jan. 2015 2656 2645
Feb. 2015 2646 2647
Mar. 2015 2645 2649
Apr. 2015 2650 2651
May 2015 2656 2654
June 2015 2651 2657
July 2015 2651 2660
Aug. 2015 2652 2662
Sep. 2015 2646 2663
Oct. 2015 2650 2663
Nov. 2015 2649 2663
Dec. 2015 2663 2662
Jan. 2016 2662 2661
Feb. 2016 2661 2659
Mar. 2016 2653 2656
Apr. 2016 2649 2653
May 2016 2641 2650
June 2016 2644 2648
July 2016 2648 2646
Aug. 2016 2651 2645
Sep. 2016 2658 2645
Oct. 2016 2650 2644
Nov. 2016 2637 2643
Dec. 2016 2638 2641
Jan. 2017 2638 2640
Feb. 2017 2647 2640
Mar. 2017 2648 2640
Apr. 2017 2651 2641

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