2025.12.2309:22:39UTC+00Iceland Jobless Rate Highest Since 2021

Iceland experienced a notable rise in its seasonally adjusted unemployment rate, reaching 6.5% in November 2025, up from 4.4% in October. This represents the highest unemployment level since April 2021, with the number of unemployed individuals increasing by 5,700 from the previous month, totaling 16,500. Analyzing by gender, the unemployment rate for men surged to 6.2% from 3.2%, while for women, it increased to 7.9% from 6%. Notably, youth unemployment, encompassing job seekers aged 16 to 24, escalated significantly to 13.3% from 7.4% in October. Concurrently, the employment rate fell to 75.5% from 77.5%, with the employed population declining by 4,600 to 220,700. Despite these changes, the labor force participation rate remained nearly stable at 81.1%. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, the unemployment rate similarly rose to 6.5% in November from 4.4% in the previous period.