2026.10.2109:15:49UTC+00Iceland Jobless Rate Falls to 3-Month Low

Iceland’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate declined to 5.7% in September 2026, down from a six‑month high of 6.8% in August. This was the lowest level since June, reflecting a month‑on‑month decrease of 2.6 thousand in the number of unemployed, to 13.3 thousand people.

By gender, the unemployment rate for men fell markedly, with the number of unemployed men down by 6.1% to 7.8 thousand. In contrast, unemployment among women rose by 5.1%, reaching 5.5 thousand.

The youth unemployment rate, covering jobseekers aged 16–24, increased to 16.1% from a revised 14.4% in August.

Meanwhile, the employment rate rose to 75.0% from 73.8%, as the number of employed persons increased by 2.1 thousand to 220.7 thousand. The labor force participation rate also edged up, to 79.7% from 79.2%.

On a non‑seasonally adjusted basis, the unemployment rate fell to 5.1% in September, from 6.0% in the previous month.