Norway's unemployment rises to record 15.4% of work force

Norway's rate of unemployment rose to 15.4% on Tuesday, the Labour and Welfare Agency (NAV) said, the highest level on record, up from 14.7% on March 31, as the economy ground to a halt amid efforts to curb the coronavirus pandemic.

The Norwegian government announced last month emergency shutdowns of many public and private institutions, including schools and kindergartens, sending the economy into a tailspin and triggering hundreds of thousands of layoffs.