Unemployment at 4.6 per cent

jobsKarl Johans gate. Photo Norway Today Media.

Adjusted for seasonal variations, there were 130 000 unemployed persons in February 2016, which is on a par with November 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 last seasonally-adjusted figures. The LFS shows that seasonally-adjusted unemployment increased by 3 000 from November 2015 (average of October–December) to February 2016 (average of January–March). 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) increased by 1 000 from November 2015 to February 2016. This figure is also based on seasonally-adjusted figures and three-month averages.

Since the last release, the unemployment rate for January (average of December–February) has been adjusted from 4.8 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 increased by 13 000 – and the employment rate by 0.2 percentage points to 67.9 per cent – from November 2015 to February 2016. This change is within the LFS error margin.

Source:  SSB / Norway Today