Indicator 1.12 - Employment
There is a need to preserve and enhance economic diversity in East Iceland, where Fljótsdalur Power Station and the Fjardaál smelter are located. A diverse economy, without over-reliance on one employment sector, is more likely to be stable for the long term than a monotic economy.
Both employment directly resulting from Alcoa and Landsvirkjun operations, as well as employment indirectly affected by Alcoa and Landsvirkjun, will be monitored. The ratio of Fjardaál and Landsvirkjun employees in East Iceland is monitored in order to measure how much the economy relies on jobs with these companies.
Performance
a. Percentage of new Alcoa and Landsvirkjun employees who are: East Iceland residents; East Iceland returnees; other Icelanders; foreign nationals living outside Iceland
| Fljótsdalur Power Station Employees, when hired |
2006 | 2007 |
2008 | 2009 |
2010 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Iceland residents |
2 |
4 |
1 |
1 | 1 | |
| East Iceland returnees | 2 |
2 |
||||
| Other Icelanders |
1 | 1 | 1 | |||
| Foreign nationals living outside Iceland |
||||||
| Total of hired employees |
5 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
ALCOA: Information is missing
Updated 10 February 2012
Percentage of Alcoa Fjardaál and Fljótsdalur Power Station employees according to residence in 2008-2010.
| Alcoa | Fljótsdalur Power Station |
|||||||
| Employee residence/year |
2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011* |
2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 |
| In East Iceland |
88% | 89% |
99% | 93% | 93% | 93% | 100% |
|
| Outside East Iceland |
10% | 12% | 1% | 7% | 7% | 7% | 0% | |
| Abroad | 1% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | |
Sources: Alcoa Fjardaál and Landsvirkjun 2009-2011.
*Data missing from Alcoa for 2011
Updated 9 February 2012
b. Number and percentage of jobs in key sectors in East Iceland and the country as a whole
In 2003, the East Region suffered from a limited range of employment opportunities and a high proportion of those jobs were low paying. The economy of Iceland as a whole was very different from the economy of East Iceland. The principal difference was the lack of emphasis on agriculture, fishing, and fish processing in Iceland as a whole (approximately 10%) compared to East Iceland, where the same sectors comprised almost a third of all employment.
Employment Structure of Iceland and East Iceland in 2003 (baseline):
| Iceland | % of Iceland Total | East Iceland | % of East Iceland Total | |
| Agriculture | 4230 | 2.72% | 410 | 6.18% |
| Fishing | 5480 | 3.52% | 530 | 7.99% |
| Fish processing | 6360 | 4.09% | 1,110 | 16.74% |
| Manufacturing except fish processing (excluding Alcoa and Landsvirkjun projects) | 17000 | 10.92% | 520 | 7.84% |
| Electricity & water supply (excluding Alcoa and Landsvirkjun projects) | 1520 | 0.98% | 60 | 0.90% |
| Construction | 10580 | 6.80% | 420 | 6.33% |
| Wholesale, retail trade, repairs | 21140 | 13.58% | 590 | 8.90% |
| Hotels, restaurants | 5540 | 3.56% | 200 | 3.02% |
| Transport, communication | 10510 | 6.75% | 360 | 5.43% |
| Financial intermediation | 5900 | 3.79% | 130 | 1.96% |
| Real estate & business activities | 12030 | 7.73% | 240 | 3.62% |
| Public administration | 10810 | 6.94% | 580 | 8.75% |
| Education | 10880 | 6.99% | 360 | 5.43% |
| Health services, social work | 22980 | 14.76% | 740 | 11.16% |
| Other services and n.s. | 10720 | 6.89% | 380 | 5.73% |
| Total (excluding Alcoa and Landsvirkjun projects) | 155,680 | 100% | 6,630 | 100% |
| Alcoa and Landsvirkjun Projects employment | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ratio of Alcoa and Landsvirkjun employment to local employment | 0 |
Source: Statistics Iceland, 2003
More recent information about the ratio of the workforce according to sectors in East Iceland is not available (only from 2003, see above). Statistics Iceland's newest information show the ratio of Iceland as a whole, outside the capital area, and in the capital area, in 2008. To view the changes in the country as a whole, please click here (only available in Icelandic).
c. Percentage of the workforce* in East Iceland working for Landsvirkjun.
| Percentage of the labour force in East Iceland working for Landsvirkjun |
||||
| 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | |
| Employees living in East Iceland |
0,11% | 0,12% | 0,12% | 0,12% |
| Employees living outside East Iceland | 0,17% | 0,11% | 0,13% | 0,13% |
* Workforce means all the residents of East Iceland aged 16-74.
Metrics, Targets and Monitoring Protocol
What is measured?
a. Percentage of new Alcoa and Landsvirkjun employees who are (Project effect: direct):
- East Iceland residents;
- East Iceland returnees;
- Other Icelanders; and
- Foreign nationals living outside Iceland
b. Number and proportion of jobs in key economic sectors in East Iceland and nationally. (Project effect: indirect).
c. Proportion of total Alcoa and Landsvirkjun employment versus total East Iceland employment. (Project effect: indirect).
Targets
- Construction and operation: Target not applicable. Will monitor and report data.
- Operation: Preserve diversity in employment
- Operation: Proportion will decrease over time
Monitoring Protocol
- The human resources departments in Landsvirkjun and the HR team at Fjardaál collect this information. Contractors report to lead persons within companies, i.e. the "owners" of this indicator.
- Information available from Statistics Iceland. The Hachman Index is used to calculate diversity in East Iceland compared to national economic diversity. Information gathered annually.
- Information from Landsvirkjun and Fjardaál compared to information about total workforce in East Iceland from Iceland Statistics. Information gathered annually.
Rationale for Indicator Selection
There is a need to preserve and enhance economic diversity in East Iceland. A diverse economy, without over-reliance on one employment sector, is more likely to be stable for the long term. Both employment directly resulting from Alcoa and Landsvirkjun operations, as well as employment indirectly affected by Alcoa and Landsvirkjun, will be monitored.
The ratio of Alcoa and Landsvirkjun employment to total local employment is measured to help indicate the degree to which the local communities rely on the projects for economic and employment diversity.
