Norway's unemployment eases to 15.3% of work force

Norway's overall rate of unemployment fell slightly to 15.3% on Tuesday, the Labour and Welfare Agency (NAV) said, down from a record 15.4% on April 7, as the economy ground to a halt amid efforts to curb the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Norwegian government last month announced emergency shutdowns of many public and private institutions, sending the economy into a tailspin, but has since has begun easing some restrictions as the number of hospital patients declined.