Analysis of the job situation in Iceland shows a mixed picture, at once indicating improvement over the past year but still many problems unresolved.
At the end of 2010, unemployment stood at about 7.4%, or 13,200 people, having changed very little over the past year. The number of people who have been unemployed for a year or more was at 4,696, or about 34% of those unemployed. Long-term unemployed reach its peak in July and August of this year, when 61% of those who were unemployed had been so for six months or more. This number has since declined to about 50%.
17% of the unemployed are comprised of young people – Icelanders aged 16 to 24 made up 2,377 of the unemployed, down by 377 from the end of 2009. Unemployment among foreigners, by contrast, has increased from 1.963 at the end of 2009 to 2,177 in December 2010. 61% of unemployed foreigners are Poles who are trained in construction.
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