- Guðbjörg Kristmundsdóttir, chairwoman of Verkalýðs- og sjómannafélag Keflavíkur og nágrennis and Weronika Niemczyk unemployed bus driver.

Unemployment following the pandemic has hit foreign workers especially hard, who came here during a period of economic growth and a tourism boom to fill the immense demand for labour. Suðurnes has been impacted more than any other region. For years, Suðurnes have had a higher proportion of immigrants than any other region, partly due to the proximity to the airport and the Blue Lagoon. There have been plenty of jobs in the region. Now, the situation has changed dramatically. While the general unemployment rate in Iceland is just under 12%, it is 26% in Suðurnes and more than 1700 immigrants are without a job.

But what is it like to live on the basic unemployment benefits – an amount that most of us would have a hard time getting by on – despite the family support that most of us native Icelanders have?

Click the player above to see the interview.

Guðbjörg Kristmundsdóttir, chairwoman of Verkalýðs- og sjómannafélag Keflavíkur og nágrennis, says that the situation is not good. Many are without work and many are about to exhaust their right to unemployment benefits and will then transfer onto financial support from the municipality. When 26% of the people fit work are unemployed, that can certainly be called a state of emergency. Guðbjörg fears the long-term consequences for people, because even though vaccination is taking off, it will take some time for everything to return to normal. The longer that a person is without work, the harder it is for them to a job, or even to be fit for work. It can be a vicious circle.

Weronika Niemczyk is originally from Poland, and now lives in Suðurnes. She is one of the people who lost their jobs when the tourism sector collapsed. She says that isolation is one of them most difficult things about the current situation. Unemployed people also struggle to make ends meet. Even though the unemployment benefits were raised, food prices increased at the same time, and the benefits are still too low. Weronika says that Polish people in Iceland help each other as much as they can during these difficult times.