Operational cost per student in primary schools in Iceland

Statistics Iceland has calculated the average operational cost per student in all primary schools that are run by local governments, according to paragraph 2 Article 56, Act No 66/1995 on Primary Schools and paragraph 6, Directive No. 320, March 26, 2007 on the accreditation of primary schools and the minimum contribution from local governments to such schools.

This calculation is done according to paragraph 2 in Article 6 of the aforementioned directive that states:

„The calculation made by Statistics Iceland according to paragraph 1 shall be available in September each year.  The calculation shall be based on the Annual Reports of local governments for the previous year, according to price changes until the day the calculations are done.  Calculation of price changes shall be done according to general rise in the wages of employees of primary schools and changes in the consumer price index allowing for the weight of each component in the operational cost of the primary schools.”

The average operational cost per student in primary schools in 2012 turned out to be 1,411,812 krona (8.625€ or 11.672 US dolars) and the increase in the weighted average price level from 2012 until September 2013 was estimated at around 3.9%.

The findings of the calculation are, therefore, that the estimated operational cost per student in primary schools that are run by local government is 1,466,718 krona (8.960€ or 12.126 US dolars)  in September 2013.

Source: Statistics Iceland
Iceland24, October 2013

Unemployment Rate down to 4.4% in Iceland

The employment rate was 79.3% and the unemployment rate was 4.4%. The unemployment rate has decreased by 1.3 percentage points from August 2012 when it was 5.7%.

Unemployment 4.4% in August

The number of persons in the labour force in August 2013 was 188,300 which corresponds to an activity rate of 82.9%. The number of employed persons was 180,000 and unemployed persons were 8,300. The employment rate was 79.3% and the unemployment rate was 4.4%. The unemployment rate has decreased by 1.3 percentage points from August 2012 when it was 5.7%.  In August 2013 the male unemployment rate was 4.6% compared to 4.9% in August 2012 and the female unemployment rate was 4.2% compared to 6.7% in August 2012.

 Labour force August 2013

Seasonally adjusted unemployment 4.9%

The seasonally adjusted data shows that in August 2013 the number of people in the labour force was 186,900 or 82.5% activity rate compared to 183,400 and 80.7% in July. The number of unemployed persons amounted to 9.200 or 4.9% which is the same as in July.

The number of seasonally adjusted employed persons in August was 177,700 or 78.4% compared to 174,200 and 76.7% in July.  The seasonally adjusted trend data shows little or no change for the last six months both in numbers and percentage. The twelve month trend for activity has increased 1.6%, employment has increased by 2.4% and unemployment has decreased by 1.6%.

Implementation 

August 2013 is divided in to four weeks, from the 29th of July to 1st of September 2013. The total sample size was 1,505 persons, 16–74 years randomly chosen from the Population Register. When those who had passed away or those who were living abroad had been deducted from the sample the net sample was 1,465 persons. In total the number of usable answers was 1,186 which correspond to 80.4% response rate. All figures have been weighted by sex and age groups. The confidence limit of the results on activity rate is ±2 points, employment rate is ±2.2% and unemployment rate is ±1.3%. Figures may not add up because of rounding.

Source: Statistics Iceland

Iceland24, September 2013

New 10000 ISK Icelandic banknote out today!

The Central Bank of Iceland introduced a new ten thousand krónur banknote today. The face of natural scientist and poet Jónas Hallgrímsson appears on the bill, as well as the Eurasian golden plover. Hallgrímsson was interested in the plover and mentioned her in some of his poems.

Photo by Kristinn Ingvarsson

The new banknote will go into circulation in late October this year. It has 4 zeros, but the banknote with the most zeros in history is the Zimbabwe 100 Trillion Dollars bill, issued in 2009, with 14 zeros.

The new 10.000 ISK banknote was designed by Kristín Þorkelsdóttir, who also designed Iceland’s other denominations. The blue note measures 172 x 70 mm, and is protected by the following security features: a watermark of Jon Sigurdsson with electrotype 10.000 and Cornerstones, 18-mm wide Optiks security thread, UV printing, intaglio printing, microprinting, and raised horizontal bars to assist the sight-impaired.

In 1981, the Icelandic króna was revalued, due to hyperinflation, with 100 old krónur being worth 1 new króna. Had that not been done, we would now be looking at a 1.000.000 ISK banknote.

This makes the first time since 1986 - when the 5,000 ISK bill was first pressed - that a new Icelandic bill was put into circulation. Whether or not most people will ever hold a 10,000 ISK bill themselves remains to be seen.

Source: Goiceland.is
Iceland24, September 2013