At the end of last month, the Directorate of Labor listed 422 vacancies in the capital region compared to 82 at the end of March 2008. Vacancies are also advertised in other parts of the country, primarily in northeast Iceland.
“Employers who haven’t advertised with us before have increased. They know that those who are unemployed are searching for employment on our website and it doesn’t cost anything to post an advertisement there,” Soffía Ágústsdóttir, an educational and employment counselor at the Directorate of Labor, explained to Morgunbladid.
“Resources for the employment market have also increased. Companies and institutions that are looking for people to participate in campaign projects and on-the-job training programs also advertise with us,” Ágústsdóttir said, adding that in the capital region employers have also begun advertising for summer jobs and other temporary employment.
“Hrafnista [nursing home] is looking for 50 people for summer jobs. Additionally one of the candidacies is advertising for 30 people for jobs until the elections [on April 25] and these jobs are included in the number of vacancies registered at the end of March,” Ágústsdóttir explained.
According to a new opinion poll conducted by the Employment Service of Reykjavík University, more than half of Iceland’s largest companies plan to hire people for new positions this year, many of which are permanent, mbl.is reports.
The most sought-after professions are economists (56 percent) and engineers (25 percent). The poll concluded that only 12 percent of responding companies are not planning to hire new employees in the next 12 months.
The questions were sent to managers in Iceland’s 100 largest companies and 62 percent of those contacted participated in the poll.
Click here to read more about the situation on the employment market in Iceland.
