173,000 people are currently active participants in the labor market(77.4 percent), thereof 160,700 are presently employed (71.8 percent) and 12,600 are seeking work or are unemployed (7.3 percent), mbl.is reports.

The number of unemployed workers has dropped by 1,100 since  February last year, when 13,700 people, or 7.9 percent of the workforce, were unemployed. The decrease in the total number of active participants in the labor market is 0.6 percent from a total of 72.4 percent in February 2011.

The average worker works 40 hours a week; the workweek is half an hour shorter than in February 2011.
In the last twelve months, the number of unemployed workers has decreased significantly according to Statistics Iceland, or by 1,500 individuals during the whole period.

The number of workers in the workforce reached 168,700 in February 2012 but the same month in 2011 showed 167,200 employed workers.

Unemployment is still relatively high for Iceland. Hundreds of applicants apply for the same position and in the case of Icelandair, the numbers have been known to go in to the thousands for the most sought-after positions such as those for flight attendants.

JB