The Directorate of Labour in Iceland predicts that approximately 3,000 people will be coming to Iceland through temporary work agencies this year, which is twice as much as last year, reports the Iceland Monitor. The Directorate further predicts that there will be 1,000 more workers directly employed by companies that don't use work agencies. The number of people coming through temporary work agencies is also expected to continue to grow.

According to the Iceland Bureau of Statistics, foreign citizens in Iceland were 30,300 at the beginning of this year, compared to 26,500 last year.  Before the recession foreign workers made up 10% of the workforce and that number is on the rise again as the growing economy faces a labour shortage.

According to a report in the Financial Times, more than a third of jobs created in the last five years have been in tourism following Iceland's increased popularity as a holiday destination and the country's infrastructure is struggling to keep up with the influx of foreign travellers. Temporary works are hired to work in country hotels, holiday farms, bars and restaurants

Iceland is also heavily dependent on the fishing industry, which accounts for 40% of its exports and temporary jobs are offered in fish processing plants which are located in the fishing villages and towns around the coast.