Nav: Unemployment Unchanged at 2.0% in September as Job Ads Reach 44,500

Nav describes a continued good labour market in September, with the largest increase in unemployment in engineering and ICT, partly linked to petroleum.

On 2 October 2026 Nav published its September labour market figures as “Stabil arbeidsledighet i september” (stable unemployment in September). Seasonally adjusted, the number of fully unemployed fell by 600 from August and the rate was unchanged at 2.0 per cent; gross unemployment, which includes people on labour market programmes, stayed at 2.6 per cent.

Health, care and nursing: 10,000

Retail and sales: 5,100

Service and other work: 3,800

Job ads on arbeidsplassen.no in September 2026, three largest occupation groups. Bar length is scaled to 12,000. Source: Nav, 2 October 2026.

The short version: A strong ad count shows demand in the market overall. It does not show which jobs are open to applicants who need a permit, or to foreign-educated professionals who still need authorisation.

The main figures

Unemployment (unadjusted): 59,400 fully unemployed, 2.0 per cent of the labour force; 95,200 registered job seekers in total, 3.2 per cent.
Job ads: 44,500 positions advertised on arbeidsplassen.no in September, 1,900 per working day seasonally adjusted, 3 per cent more than a year earlier.
Sectors: gross unemployment was highest in travel and transport (3.5 per cent) and lowest among academic professions (1.0 per cent) and health, care and nursing (1.1 per cent). Engineering and ICT saw the largest increase, from a low level, and Nav says part of it comes from the petroleum sector.
Regions: Østfold (3.2 per cent) and Oslo (3.1 per cent) were highest; Troms (1.5 per cent) was lowest.

Nav's director of labour and welfare, Hege Nilssen, is quoted as saying the picture points to a continued good labour market, with low unemployment and good demand for labour.

What it means for jobseekers abroad

Health and care again had the most ads, but foreign-educated health professionals need authorisation first; see the nurse authorisation steps. The rise in unemployment in engineering and ICT is a reminder that sector-level shortages vary; Nav's figures do not say which individual employers recruit abroad. For permits, start with the skilled worker permit overview. See also Nav's August and October releases.

Sources

Stabil arbeidsledighet i september (Nav): published 2 October 2026; read 7 November 2026.

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