Unemployment at 4.7 per cent

Unemployment at 4.7 per centUnemployment .Photo:pixabay.com

Adjusted for seasonal variations, there were 130 000 unemployed persons in March 2016, which is on a par with December 2015.

The Labour Force Survey (LFS) has shown a gradual increase in unemployment from 3.2 per cent in May 2014 to 4.6 per cent in August 2015. Since then, the unemployment rate has been fairly stable according to the seasonally-adjusted figures. The LFS shows that seasonally-adjusted unemployment increased by 3 000 from December 2015 (average of November–January) to March 2016 (average of February–April). This is a change 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 December 2015 to March 2016. This figure is also based on seasonally-adjusted figures and three-month averages.

Since the last release, the unemployment rate for February (average of January–March) has been adjusted from 4.6 to 4.7 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 10 000 from December 2015 to March 2016, a change 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 in the last few months, and this number has remained fairly stable since the winter of 2014/2015. Since then, the seasonally-adjusted number of employed persons under 25 years has decreased, while the number among those aged 25 years or more has increased correspondingly.

 

Source: SSB / Norway Today