Iceland’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 6.8% in August 2026, its highest level since February, up from a revised 6.6% in July. The number of unemployed increased by 0.7 thousand over the month to 15.9 thousand, comprising 10.9 thousand men and 5.0 thousand women.
Youth unemployment, covering job seekers aged 16 to 24, jumped to 14.2% from 6.7%, its highest reading since May.
Despite the rise in unemployment, the employment rate inched up to 73.7% from 73.5% in July, as the number of employed people grew by 1.2 thousand to 217.8 thousand. The labor force participation rate also edged higher, to 79.0% from 78.7%.
On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, the unemployment rate increased to 6.0% in August from 5.5% in the previous month.