Unemployment
25. Jun 2025
Unemployment at 0.9% in May
Unemployed people are registered as unemployed with the Faroese unemployment system and the social welfare services, fully available to the labour market and actively seeking work.
The unemployment rate reached 0.9% in May, 0.1% less than in May 2024.
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A full-time unemployed person is defined as one who is unemployed throughout a full month. If two persons are affected by unemployment for half a month each, they are converted to one full-time unemployed person for the month in question.
In May, 286 people were full-time unemployed, 11 less than in May 2024. 354 people were affected by unemployment, 15 more than in May 2024. In other words, more people were unemployed in May this year, but they were not unemployed for as much of the month as in May 2024.
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Lower unemployment rate for women
In May, 132 women were affected by unemployment, 15 fewer than in May 2024. The full-time equivalent of this figure is 105, corresponding to an unemployment rate of 0.7%, down 0.2 percentage points from May 2024.
222 men were affected by unemployment, 30 more than in May 2024. Men’s unemployment rate was 1.1% in May, with 181 full-time unemployed men. This is 0.1 percentage points higher than in May 2024.
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Lowest unemployment in Sandoy
The map below shows unemployment rates by region. In May, the Sandoy region had the lowest unemployment rate at 0.5%, up from 0.1% in May 2024. Suðuroy had the highest rate at 2.2%, down from 2.7% in May 2024.
More regional statistics on unemployment are found here: Norðoya region, Eysturoyar region, Norðstreymoyar region, Suðurstreymoyar region, Vága region, Sandoyar region, Suðuroyar region
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Lowest unemployment in oldest age group
The highest unemployment rate in May (1.3%) was registered in the 25-34 age group. The lowest rate (0.7%) was in the 55-66 age group. The rate is unchanged from May 2024 for both these age groups.
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11% are long-term unemployed
The graph below shows how long people have been affected by unemployment. The largest group of unemployed people in May (141 persons, or 31% of all unemployed people) were those who have been out of work for between 30 and 89 days.
In May, 46 people (11% of all unemployed people) were long-term unemployed. This means that they have been out of work for more than a year (365+ days). The number of long-term unemployed people increased by 12 since May 2024, when the proportion of long-term unemployed people stood at 9%.
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Unemployment as a statistical concept
Statistics Faroe Islands and other statistics agencies across the world use the definitions of unemployment given by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), which is a United Nations agency.
According to this definition, the unemployment rate reflects the proportion of the labour force that does not have a job, is available to the labour market and is actively looking for work.
Statistical scope for unemployment figures
The source of the unemployment figures are individuals who are registered with the unemployment office (ALS) and the social welfare centre (Almannaverkið) and who meet the criteria mentioned above. The sources, and thus Statistic Faroe Islands’ unemployment figures, only cover people aged 16-66.
In order to make international comparisons, the unemployment figures from the Labour force survey must be used.