About one fifth of Reykjanesbær’s population is currently unemployed. The Minister of Communications is considering building port facilities that could create hundreds of jobs. The commune authorities intend to respond to the situation by offering financial help to those in need.
The economy of Suðurnes has been hit hard by the coronavirus epidemic. Things had been bad in the county before with the collapse of WOWair, and the virus epidemic only made this worse.
An estimated 17.3 percent of the unemployed were unemployed in Suðurnes in August. In Reykjanesbær alone, unemployment reached 19.4 percent in August. On Friday, Isavia laid off 133 workers. Earlier this spring, 100 people were made redundant.
“We are prepared for an even worse situation” Kjartan City Mayor Már Kjartansson commented on the growing number of unemployed.
The Suðurnes Social Welfare Fund supports families who ask for help with the financing of school meals for their children. Kjartan says the city intends to provide financial aid to these most needy families.
“We are prepared for a significant increase in the number of people who need such help” added.
This spring, due to the difficult situation on the labor market, the government donated 250 million crowns to activities and development in Suðurnes. The minister says more is needed.
“Of course, the key to success in Suðurnes, as in the rest of Iceland, is job creation” says Transport Minister Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson.
Sigurður Ingi also mentioned the idea of building a maritime services cluster in Njarðvík that could create 250-350 jobs in the next three years. The purpose of the construction is to receive and service the largest fishing vessels in the country. Reykjaneshöfn, Reykjanesbær and Skipasmíðastöð Njarðvíkur signed a declaration of intent to work together on this topic this week.
“These are very interesting ideas that are explored because they will create new jobs in the future.” says Sigurður Ingi.
While the introduction of tougher action against COVID-19 at the border has hit the Suðurnes region hard, Sigurður Ingi says such action as part of the country’s virus control was inevitable.
“We’re all in the same boat … and once we have it under control, we must be ready to go the other way as we did this summer.” Sigurður Ingi was speaking. He pointed out that when air transport returns to normal, new job prospects in Suðurnes will quickly improve.
visir.is/ Marta M. Niebieszczanska
Source: Yle