The decline in unemployment continues in February

NAVNAV.Photo: Norway Today Media

The number of people registered as fully unemployed decreased by 500 in February, according to seasonally adjusted numbers from Nav.

 

Unemployment has thus decreased from 3.1 percent of the labor force from last February to 2.5 percent in February of this year.

At the end of February, 69,800 were fully unemployed and registered at Nav, a decrease of 15,000 compared with February from last year.

Gross unemployment, which also includes jobseekers who participate in measures from Nav, fell by 600 persons from January to February. In total, 90,000 people were registered as fully unemployed or jobseekers who participated in activities by Nav.

That is 16,400 fewer than a year ago, equivalent to 3.2 percent of the workforce, down from 3.8 percent last year.

Fewer new job seekers
The decline of unemployment in the past year must be seen in the context that the fact that the number of new job seekers has fallen sharply and that the number has now stabilized at a low level. In February, there was an average of 800 people who registered as job seekers at Nav, every business day.

Fall 2008 was the last time this figure was this low.

Greatest decline in Rogaland
Compared to February 2017, the number of unemployed has gone down in all the counties. The decline is highest in Rogaland by 34 percent, followed by Møre og Romsdal and Vest-Agder by 24 percent.

Rogaland was, however, together with Aust-Agder and Vestfold, one of the counties with the highest unemployment rate in February, by 3.1 percent. Unemployment was lowest in Sogn og Fjordane by 1.6 percent.

Lowest in education
Unemployment is now lower than in February last year for all professions. The greatest decline is in engineering and in IT trades by 35 percent and industrial at 30 percent..

At the end of February unemployment was highest in construction and site construction (4.4 percent), followed by tourism and transport (4.2 percent).

Unemployment was lowest in education, with 0.7 percent of the workforce.

 

NTB Scanpix / Norway Today