Increase in unemployment among men

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The unemployment rate among men increased from 4.5 per cent in the 1st quarter of 2015 to 5.7 per cent in the 1st quarter of 2016. During the same period there was also an increase in the underemployment among men.

The number of unemployed women remained stable from the 1st quarter of 2015 to the same quarter of 2016, and the unemployment rate was approximately 4.0 per cent both years according to the Labour Force Survey (LFS).

More underemployment among men
From the 1st quarter of 2015 to the 1st quarter of 2016 the number of underemployed men increased by 9 000, from 22 000 to 31 000. In the 1st quarter of 2016, 14.6 per cent of all part-time employed men were underemployed, compared to 10.4 per cent of the women.

Continued drop in oil and gas extraction
The LFS shows a decrease of 9 000 employed persons in mining and quarrying – an industry dominated by oil and gas extraction – from the 1st quarter of 2015 to the 1st quarter of 2016. There was also a decrease in employment in manufacturing (12 000). These industries are dominated by men. On the other hand, the number of employed persons increased by 28 000 within health and social work – an industry dominated by women.

More employees with temporary jobs
The number of employees on temporary contracts went up by 28 000 from the 1st quarter of 2015 to the 1st quarter of 2016. This increase was mainly among substitute workers. In the 1st quarter of 2016 the number of employees with temporary jobs constituted 8.3 per cent of all employees, up 1.1 percentage points compared to the same quarter of 2015, according to the LFS.

Small changes in labour force participation
The labour force participation rate among the population aged 15-74 was 70.8 per cent in the1st quarter of 2016, unchanged from the same quarter in the previous year.

 

Source: SSB / Norway Today