Norwegian jobless rate falls in February

Norwegian jobless rate dropped in the month of February. The decline in the unemployment rate was partially due to a seasonal change but the seasonally adjusted number of unemployed, both with and without people on labor market measures, dropped further.

This development underpin the view that economic growth is above the potential and that capacity utilization is rising, noted DNB Markets in a research report. The development appears to be stronger than Norges Bank’s assumption in December and is a support for a rate hike in March, said DNB Markets.

The jobless rate was 2.5 percent of the labor force in the month, down from 2.6 percent in January. Consensus expectations were 2.5 percent. Due to a change in the registration procedure in November 2018, it has been easier and more rapid to register as unemployed and thus there is a break in the series from October. This alteration in isolation results in a rise in unemployment of 6 percent compared to a situation without this change in the procedure, according to NAV.

Seasonally adjusted figures indicate a drop of 700 people both for registered unemployment and for registered unemployed inclusive people on labor market measures.