Unemployment at 5 per cent

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There were 139 000 unemployed persons in July, adjusted for seasonal variations. This corresponds to 5.0 per cent of the labour force.

According to the Labour Force Survey (LFS), the seasonally-adjusted number of unemployed persons in the population aged 15-74 years increased by 11 000 from April (average of March–May) to July 2016 (average of June–August). This change is within the LFS error margin. For the subpopulation aged 25-74 years, the LFS shows an increase of 12 000 in the number of unemployed persons. This change is outside 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 April to July. This figure is also based on seasonally-adjusted figures and three-month averages. The total number of people registered as unemployed or on government initiatives to promote employment with the Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV) has remained stable at around 100 000 so far in 2016.

Small changes in employment
The LFS shows that the seasonally-adjusted number of employed persons increased by 5 000 from April to July, a change which is within the LFS error margin. Taking the LFS error margin into account, the number of employed persons has remained unchanged throughout the last year. However, since the population aged 15–74 years has increased in the same period, the employment rate has declined. From July 2015 to July 2016, the employment rate decreased by 0.6 percentage points to 67.4 per cent.

 

Source: SSB / Norway Today