Icelandic Statistics Office apologizes for inaccurate public employee count

The Icelandic Statistics Office has apologized for inaccuracies in its count of public employees, acknowledging that approximately 5,000 individuals on parental leave were mistakenly classified as state workers. Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson highlighted this issue on his Facebook page, revealing that he had requested a review of the data alongside the Statistics Office.

In a statement, the Statistics Office explained that during their analysis for the Prime Minister’s Office, it was uncovered that the number of active workers in public institutions had been overstated. Individuals on parental leave were not identified correctly, leading to their inclusion in the public employee count instead of reflecting their employment status prior to their leave.

The office is currently working to rectify the data pertaining to the number of working individuals categorized by operational forms, meaning their corrections will focus solely on this aspect and not on other statistical classifications like industry sectors. This data has been temporarily removed from publication until the necessary adjustments are made.