Norwegian unemployment rising
Photo: NRK.
“All labor groups experience increased unemployment, but it is still the construction industry which has the biggest increase,” says Tor Saglie, head of the Norwegian Labor and Welfare Service (NAV) in a press release.
67.400 people were registered as unemployed at the end of February, that is 25.500 more than one year ago, reports NRK. In one year the increase in unemployment has been 61 percent.
Over the last 12 months, unemployment within the construction industry has increased 157 percent. Also other Norwegian industry is experiencing hardship, and especially the companies depending on exports.
Although Norway’s jobless rate is still low by international standards, it is expected to continue to rise, reports Forbes.com
“The increase in the unemployment numbers is very serious for the Norwegian economy. We haven’t seen numbers like this since the ’90s, which was a very bad time for…the economy,” DnB NOR Markets senior economist Bjørn Erik Orskaud said.
The head of the Financial Supervisory Authority, Bjørn Skogstad Aamo, said on Thursday (Feb. 26) that the economy was set for a hard landing. He said he did not foresee a Norwegian banking crisis, but did not rule out that some banks might run into trouble in 2009 and 2010. Read more on Forbes.com
