Norway July Jobless Steady, Supports ’09 Rate Hike

Photo: The Norwegian Labor and Welfare Organization (NAV).

The Norwegian unemployment rate was 3.0 per cent of the labor force in July. The employment rate shows a decrease since the peak in the autumn of 2008, reports Statistic Norway. This supports calls for the Central Bank to lift rates by the end of the year, Handelsbanken economists said.

The Labor Force Survey (LFS) shows a decrease in employment by 7 000 from April to July. The reduction in employment is mainly within the age group 16 -24 years.

The Labor and Welfare Organisation (NAV) shows a certain increase throughout 2009 compared to the more stable figures from the LFS, which could, besides random sample errors, be a result of the LFS not adequately intercepting the increase in unemployment among new groups of immigrants, reports SSB.

Economists said the steady data “surprised both us and the market on the downside, backing our view that Norges Bank should and will hike its rate in October,” writes Online.wsj.com.

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