Unemployment at 4.8 per cent

Illustration. Jobs.Photo: pixabay.com

There were 135 000 unemployed persons in June, adjusted for seasonal variations. This corresponded to 4.8 per cent of the labour force.

The Labour Force Survey (LFS) shows that the seasonally-adjusted figures for unemployed persons increased by 5 000 from March (average of February-April) to June (average of May-July). 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) increased by 1 000 from March to June. This figure is also based on seasonally-adjusted figures and three-month averages.

Small changes in employment
The LFS shows that the seasonally-adjusted number of employed persons decreased by 3 000 from March (average of February-April) to June (average of May-July), 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 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 over has increased somewhat during this period.

Even though the number of employed persons has remained fairly stable since the winter of 2014/2015, the population has increased during this period. The employment rate has therefore decreased. Of the population aged 15-74 years, 67.4 per cent was employed in June, adjusted for seasonal variations. This is a decrease of 0.2 percentage points since March 2016 – and down by roughly 1 percentage point since the winter of 2014/2015.

 

Source: SSB / Norway Today