The number of unemployed persons in Norway has fallen slightly, according to new figures released late last week, but state statistics bureau SSB also reported a rise in the number of persons who have been unemployed for more than half-a-year.
Norway’s unemployment rate stood at 3.4 percent as of the end of July, down slightly because of 2,000 fewer persons receiving unemployment benefits. SSB reported 93,000 unemployed in May, down from 95,000 in April and 99,000 in March.
SSB also reported that that the total number of jobs in Norway rose by 5,000 and that 2.6 million persons were employed. A third of the more than 90,000 unemployed in the second quarter, however, had been out of work for more than 26 weeks, reported newspaper Aftenposten, and the amount of persons aged 15 to 74 who were employed or looking for work fell from 72.1 percent in the second quarter of last year to 71.5 percent this year.
newsinenglish.no staff
