Labour force survey, seasonally-adjusted figures, July 2006

This led to an unemployment rate of 3.4 per cent of the labour force in July, and not 3.0 per cent (previously published). The decline in unemployment from April (the March-May period) to July 2006 (June-August) is consistent with the development since the summer of 2005. The last bottom level was in the beginning of 1999. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate then was 2.8 per cent.

Seasonally adjusted figures of registered unemployment at job centres show a decline of 5 000 people from April to July 2006.

Employment increased by 20 000 people from April to July 2006, according to seasonally adjusted figures from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). This is consistent with the upward trend in the employment figures since the summer of 2005.

Unemployment also down in EU-countries

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Norway was 3.4 per cent in July 2006, compared with 3.9 per cent in April. The rate in the EU15 area fell from 7.4 to 7.3 per cent, and in the OECD area from 6.1 to 6.0 per cent. In the same period, unemployment increased from 4.7 to 4.8 per cent in the USA. From April to July, unemployment fell from 7.8 to 7.7 per cent in Finland, and from 9.2 to 8.9 per cent in France, while the rate stayed unchanged at 8.2 per cent in Germany, according to figures from the OECD and Eurostat .

From April to July 2006, man-weeks worked rose by 8 000. This is inside the LFS error margin, but still consistent with the increase in these figures since the beginning of 2004.

Changes in the LFS from 2006

With effect from January 2006, some improvements have been made in the Norwegian LFS. This will make the employment and unemployment figures more comparable with figures from the EU-countries. In addition, actual working hours will be measured more accurately. Therefore, the changes have lead to a level shift in the LFS figures. To maximize the comparability before/after 2006, the figures for the months in 2006 have been calculated according to the LFS prior to the changes.

Quarterly LFS figures, i.e. not seasonally adjusted, are presented in a separate article . The belonging tables contain figures for the second quarter of 2006, both according the LFS before and after the change. This will give an insight in the effects of the LFS changes on the various figures. For more details on the LFS, the seasonal adjustment method and the changes in the LFS, you can click on the links at the left side of this page.

Uncertain figures

The purpose of making adjustments for seasonal variations is to describe the development over the last year and provide figures of change between the last two three-month periods, corrected for normal seasonal variations. In order to reduce uncertainty, the published series are three-month moving averages of the seasonally adjusted figures. For instance, the figures for July represent the average of the estimates for June, July and August.

Tables:

• Table 1. Employment and unemployment for persons aged 16-74 years, seasonally adjusted, three-months moving average. Absolute figures in 1000 and unemployed persons in per cent of the labour force.