Norway: Unemployment continues down – Nordea Markets

Kjetil Olsen, Research Analyst at Nordea Markets, notes that Norway’s registered unemployment including those on labor market measures fell by 1300 persons in October after close to unchanged unemployment the last couple of months.

Key Quotes

“We had expected a drop by 500-1000 persons. The unadjusted rate was 2.2%. Consensus and Nordea was 2.2%.”

“Today’s figure strengthens our view that the trend in unemployment is still down. Pressure in the labour market is clearly building, also witnessed by a continued downtrend in the number of new people applying for a job via the NAV-system. In October, an average of 740 persons registered as job-seekers each working day, the lowest number since 2008.”

“The seasonal adjusted unemployment rate is now back on Norges Bank’s forecast. This should support the rate path of Norges Bank, indicating a new hike in March.”