Last week, 430,000 people were registered as fully unemployed, partially unemployed or job seekers in Norway, according to preliminary figures from Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV). This represents 10.2 per cent of the labor force in the country.
287,000 people are registered as fully unemployed, while 130,000 people were registered as part-time job seekers. Thus, a total of 15.3 per cent of the workforce was registered as job seekers with NAV.
–This is the highest unemployment rate in Norway since World War II. The main reason for this is a sharp increase in the number of layoffs as a result of the measures implemented to limit the spread of the coronavirus, says Labor and Welfare Director Sigrun Vågeng.
In the first two weeks of Corona measures, Norway has gone from having 65,000 fully unemployed to 291,000.
–The development in the labor market in Norway over the past two weeks is unparalleled in historical terms, writes the Nav Director in a press release.
