[iceland] long cold winter for foreigners

Students are back at school and many wage earners are considering changing jobs. The greatest shortage of workers seems to be in the various care sectors and the number of manual labour positions has dropped. The Confederation of Icelandic Employees forecasts a sharp decline on the labour market this winter, although unemployment may not necessarily be the result.

A great number of foreign workers are currently employed by contractors or sub-contractors in Iceland and there is considerable uncertainty as to what their situation will be when or if a decline in the economy takes place this winter.

One thing they can be sure of is that they’re going to be the first jettisoned if things take a downturn, which they won’t in this remote outpost, which in turn makes the speculation merely idle chit-chat.