A Quarter Of Workers In Iceland Struggle To Makes Ends Meet

Around a quarter of foreign nationals working in Iceland are struggling to make ends meet and just over a fifth of them cannot meet unexpected expenses, Kjarninn reports.

These were the results of a survey submitted to the Icelandic Confederation of Labor (ASÍ) by Vörður, a labour market research institute set up by ASÍ themselves.

Many foreign nationals have lost their jobs due to the COVID pandemic which has led to many requiring food and financial support.

The COVID crisis has hurt immigrants far more than nationals.

A total of 51,367 foreign nationals were registered in Iceland at the beginning of December 2020.

The unemployment rate among foreign nationals was 24%, whereas with Icelanders it sits at 10.7%. More than 40% of all those who are unemployed are immigrants.

The results of the survey also show how far fewer immigrants live in their own homes. According to the report, 34.9% live in their own homes whereas 77.4% of native Icelanders have their own homes.

This means that far more foreign nationals are in the general renting market than Icelandic natives. Only 11.1% of Icelanders rent which contrasts the 49.3% of migrants who also rent accommodation.

Mental health matters.

The survey also goes into detail on how the population’s mental health has been over the past year.

The report shows that the mental health of those who have moved to Iceland is worse than the locals, however the physical health of immigrants is better.

The most serious cases of poor mental health were seen in the younger generation, with 41.6% of responders admitting they were struggling with their mental health.

In contrast, only 21.4% of adults considered their mental health to be poor.

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