Stable labor market in Norway

July 31, 2009

The level of employment and unemployment kept stable from February to May. The unemployment rate was 3.1 per cent of the labor force in May.

Adjusted for seasonal variations the Labor Force Survey (LFS) shows that the number of unemployment increased by 2.000 people from February (as measured by the average of the three months from January to March) to May (as measured by the average of the three months from April to June). This is within the error margin of the LFS. The unemployment rate was 3.1 percent of the labour force in May, the same as in February.

Seasonally-adjusted figures for those registered unemployed and on government initiatives to promote employment with the Labor and Welfare Organisation (NAV) increased by 11.000 in the same period.

Unemployment up in other countries

From February to May unemployment continued to rise in the EU countries as well as in the USA. In Sweden the unemployment rate increased from 7.7 percent in February to 8.8 in May, and in the USA it rose from 8.1 to 9.4 per cent in the same period. All figures refer to seasonally-adjusted data from Eurostat.

Stable employment

Employment increased by 5.000 from February (as measured by the average of the three months from January to March) to May (as measured by the average of the three months from April to June), but this is within the error margin in the LFS. When taking the error margin into account, employment has kept stable since May 2008. The increase in employment within public sector has contributed to reduce the effect of decrease in some industries within private sector.