There were 128 000 unemployed persons in April, adjusted for seasonal variations. The seasonally-adjusted unemployment has remained fairly stable since August 2015.
The Labour Force Survey (LFS) showed a gradual increase in unemployment from 3.2 per cent in May 2014 to 4.6 per cent in August 2015. Men had the strongest growth. Since August 2015, the seasonally-adjusted unemployment has been fairly stable at around 130 000, approximately 4.6 per cent of the labour force.
From January (average of December-February) to April (average of March-May), the LFS shows that seasonally-adjusted unemployment decreased by 4 000. This change is within the LFS error margin. In comparison, the number of people registered as unemployed or on government initiatives to promote employment with the Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV) remained unchanged from January to April. This figure is also based on seasonally-adjusted figures and three-month averages.
Since the last release, the unemployment rate for March (average of February–April) has been adjusted from 4.7 to 4.6 per cent. These kinds of adjustments are normal since the whole time series is seasonally adjusted every month.
Small changes in employment
The LFS shows that the seasonally-adjusted number of employed persons decreased by 11 000 from January (average of December-February) to April (average of March-May), which is within the LFS error margin. According to the LFS, there have only been small changes in the seasonally-adjusted number of employed persons since the winter of 2014/2015. However, the seasonally-adjusted number of employed persons under 25 years has decreased while the number among those aged 25 years or more has increased somewhat during this period.
Source: SSB / Norway Today
