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🇮🇸 Iceland /Economy & Trade

The state picks up the bill

From Morgunblaðið · () Icelandic

Translated from Icelandic and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Interview Named sources Context piece
  • Icelandic minister Inga Sæland says unemployment affects about 8% of foreign workers, compared with roughly 2.7% to 2.8% of Icelanders.
  • She says foreign workers tend to lose jobs first when labor-market conditions worsen, particularly in tourism and construction.
  • Workers who qualify for unemployment benefits can claim them, leaving the state to cover the cost.

Unemployment among foreign workers in Iceland is nearly three times higher than among Icelanders, according to Inga Sæland, the minister of education and children and a former minister of social affairs and housing.

Sæland told RÚV’s “Silfur” program that unemployment among Icelanders remains relatively low. In an interview with Morgunblaðið, she put unemployment among foreign workers at about 8%, compared with 2.7% to 2.8% among Icelanders.

This is people who have paid their taxes and obligations, into pension funds and trade unions, people who have earned this right.

— Inga SælandShe explains why foreign workers who qualify should be able to claim unemployment benefits.

She said foreign citizens are the first to lose their jobs when the labor market tightens. She pointed especially to tourism and construction, where conditions have become difficult and construction projects have more or less halted.

It is the foreign workforce that loses its jobs earlier, and that is quite visible.

— Inga SælandShe describes the unequal impact of labor-market difficulties.

Foreign workers who have earned the right to unemployment benefits in Iceland can use that entitlement after losing their jobs, Sæland said. They have paid taxes and other obligations, as well as contributions to pension funds and trade unions, she noted. If they do not find work again quickly, she considers it likely that they will eventually leave Iceland after using the rights they accumulated during their employment.

Asked whether they would then become partly dependent on the state, Sæland replied: “Yes, they will.”

Yes, they will.

— Inga SælandShe answers whether foreign workers who cannot quickly find new jobs will partly become dependent on the state.
About this summary

Originally published by Morgunblaðið in Icelandic. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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