Iceland vs Portugal: Sahm rule recession indicator — Recession signal
Sahm rule recession indicator — Recession signal over time
- Iceland
- Portugal
How they compare
Iceland currently reports 0 Unspecified against 0 Unspecified in Portugal, a difference of 0 Unspecified.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 23 shared years of data; in 2004 it was Portugal ahead.
Iceland ranks 9th and Portugal ranks 9th of 30 countries.
Portugal has averaged higher in every one of the 3 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Iceland | Portugal | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 0.3333 Unspecified | 0.8333 Unspecified | 0.5 Unspecified | Portugal |
| 2010s | 0.1 Unspecified | 0.4 Unspecified | 0.3 Unspecified | Portugal |
| 2020s | 0.2857 Unspecified | 0.4286 Unspecified | 0.1429 Unspecified | Portugal |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher sahm rule recession indicator — recession signal, Iceland or Portugal?
- Iceland, at 0 Unspecified against 0 Unspecified in Portugal as of 2026.
- What is the difference in sahm rule recession indicator — recession signal between Iceland and Portugal?
- 0 Unspecified, with Iceland ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Iceland and Portugal?
- 23 years are reported by both, from 2004 to 2026.
- How do Iceland and Portugal rank globally for sahm rule recession indicator — recession signal?
- Iceland ranks 9th and Portugal ranks 9th of 30 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as Sahm rule recession indicator — Recession signal. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
The Sahm rule is a simple recession indicator based on increases in the unemployment rate. Originally developed for the United States, it is triggered when the three-month average unemployment rate rises by at least 0.5 percentage points above its lowest level in the previous year. To assess its usefulness beyond the United States, the OECD has calculated the Sahm indicator for OECD countries using monthly unemployment rates from the OECD Labour Force Surveys and replaced the fixed U.S. threshold with country-specific thresholds. Under this approach, the indicator is triggered when the three-month average unemployment rate rises above its country-specific threshold relative to its lowest level in the previous year. For more information please refer to Can we predict recessions using only unemployment data? Applying the Sahm rule to OECD countries.