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This is an archived release.
Immigrant unemployment unchanged
The registered unemployment rate among immigrants settled in Norway was 6.7 per cent in November 2014. This is the same level as in November 2013. The unemployment rate was also unchanged in the rest of the population, at 1.9 per cent.
| 4th quarter 2014 | Change last twelve months | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Absolute figures | Per cent | 4th quarter 2013 - 4th quarter 2014 | ||
| Absolute figures | Percentage points | |||
| 1Non-residents included. | ||||
| 2Turkey is included. | ||||
| Registered unemployed, total | 71 007 | 2.6 | 2 771 | 0 |
| Non-immigrant population1 | 43 766 | 1.9 | 1 053 | 0.0 |
| Immigrants, total | 27 241 | 6.7 | 1 718 | 0 |
| The Nordic countries | 1 412 | 2.8 | 67 | 0.1 |
| Western Europe else | 1 513 | 3.4 | 146 | 0.2 |
| EU countries in Eastern Europe | 8 964 | 7.3 | 1 060 | 0.2 |
| Eastern Europe else | 2 295 | 6.7 | 39 | -0.1 |
| North-America and Oceania | 208 | 3.2 | 32 | 0.4 |
| Asia2 | 7 730 | 7.7 | 112 | -0.2 |
| Africa | 4 247 | 12.9 | 228 | -0.2 |
| South- and Central-Amerika | 872 | 6.8 | 34 | 0.1 |
In total, 71 000 persons were registered as unemployed in the 4th quarter of 2014. Of these, 27 240 were immigrants, which is a share of 38 per cent of the total unemployed.
In spite of the unchanged unemployment rate, the number of registered unemployed immigrants increased by 1 700, and just over 1 000 of them came from the EU countries in Eastern Europe.
The unchanged unemployment rate was due to a similar strong growth in the labour force, which is the denominator of the unemployment rate. In addition, the growth in the number of registered unemployed must also be seen in relation to the decline in the number of participants on labour market schemes. In November 2014, 2 900 fewer immigrants were participating in labour market schemes than in November 2013. When the number of unemployed and participants are added together, there was a decline in the total number during the last year.
Weak changes within the immigrant groups
There were rather weak changes in the unemployment rate from November 2013 to November 2014. Immigrants from North America and Oceania, which made up the smallest group, had the strongest increase of 0.4 percentage points, while unemployment among immigrants from the EU countries (both in the east and west) increased by 0.2 percentage points. The Asian immigrants had, on the other hand, a decline of 0.2 percentage points. The remaining groups had only marginal changes.
Large disparities among immigrants
As in previous years, immigrants from Africa had the highest unemployment level, at 12.9 per cent. This was followed by immigrants from Asia with 7.7 per cent unemployed. Immigrants from EU countries in the east had a slightly lower share, at 7.3 per cent, while the groups from Eastern Europe outside the EU and Latin America had similar rates, with 6.7 and 6.8 per cent respectively.
The remaining groups had considerably lower rates, as is normally the case. Among immigrants from Western Europe, the unemployment was 3.4 per cent and among those from North America and Oceania, 3.2 per cent. The immigrants from the Nordic countries had the lowest rate, as usual, at 2.8 per cent.
Male immigrants had an unemployment rate of 6.5 per cent in the 4th quarter, while the corresponding share for female immigrants was slightly higher, at 7.0 per cent. In the rest of the population, the gender disparity was reversed, with 2.1 per cent for men and 1.7 for women.
Continued decline among participants on labour market schemes
The decline in the number of participants on labour market schemes continues. As previously mentioned, there were almost 2 900 fewer participants among immigrants in November 2014 than in November 2013, which is a decline of 35 per cent within this participant group. Among participants in total, the decline was about 30 per cent. A total of 5 346 immigrants were participants on labour market schemes in the 4th quarter of 2014, making up 42 per cent of the total participant group. As in previous years, the majority came from Asia and Africa.
Measured as a share of the settled population aged 15-74 years, immigrants had a participant rate of 0.9 per cent in November 2014. African immigrants had the highest rate, at 2.0 per cent, followed by the Asians at 1.2 per cent. In the non-immigrant population, the participation rate was 0.2 per cent. All groups had a decline in the participant rate in November 2014.
Lower unemployment among Norwegian-born to immigrant parents than immigrants
Norwegian-born to immigrant parents is still a rather small group of unemployed persons despite some growth during the last year. This group constituted slightly more than 1 000 registered unemployed persons in the 4th quarter of 2014. The majority within this group are aged 15-29 years, and the unemployment rate among them was 4.9 per cent, which was 2.5 percentage points below the immigrant group at the same age (at 7.4 per cent) and 1.7 percentage points higher than the corresponding age group in the rest of the population (at 3.2 per cent).
The unemployment rate among Norwegian-born to immigrant parents decreased by 0.4 percentage points, while there was a slight decline of 0.1 percentage point within the other two population groups for those aged 15-29 years.
Additional information
The unemployment figures are based on the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Organisation’s register of jobseekers and are calculated as a share of the labour force, which is the sum of employed persons and registered unemployed persons, i.e. people offering their labour on the labour market.
Contact
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Statistics Norway's Information Centre
E-mail: informasjon@ssb.no
tel.: (+47) 21 09 46 42