State and municipalities account for 28.5% of Icelandic FTEs

More than 54,000 full-time equivalents are held by the Icelandic state, municipalities and companies they own, accounting for about 28.5% of all full-time equivalents in the labour market, according to mbl.is.

The combined total was 54,373, although the figures are based on different reference dates.

A new analysis by the Regional Development Institute found that the state had 29,139 full-time equivalents at the turn of 2025 and 2026. That was an increase of 103, or 0.4%, from the previous year.

According to the Yearbook of Municipalities, municipalities and their companies had 25,234 full-time equivalents on 1 April 2025. These are the latest comparable figures identified by mbl.is.

There were more than 191,000 full-time equivalents across the labour market in January 2026, according to data provided to mbl.is by the analysis division of the Directorate of Labour. Comparing the figures, while allowing for the different reference dates, puts the state and municipalities’ share at approximately 28.5%.

A full-time equivalent is not the same as the number of employees. One full-time equivalent corresponds to one 100% position. Two employees working 50% each therefore count as one full-time equivalent, as do four employees working 25% each.

Statistics Iceland has also reported that there are around 238,000 jobs in Iceland. That figure is not directly comparable with the number of full-time equivalents because one person may hold more than one job, and part-time positions are counted as jobs. The total number of jobs can therefore be considerably higher than the number of full-time equivalents.