Labour market information: Norway

The population of Norway in the first quarter of 2023 was 5.49 million inhabitants. The 20-44 age group represents the largest proportion of the population, with 1 824 74 people. In the fourth quarter of 2022, 34.4% of Norwegian workers were working outside their own municipality of residence. Net immigration in 2022 was 58 105 people. The employment rate in Norway as of 1 January 2023 is 69.7%. Few countries have as many people of working age in employment as Norway does. In the EU/EEA area, only the Netherlands and Iceland have a higher proportion of their population in employment. There are three main reasons why Norway has a high employment rate compared to many other countries. Norway has both many older people and many young people working; in addition, the employment rate for women is higher in Norway than in some other countries. However, the fact that Norway has many part-time employees compared to some other countries leads to Norway ending up far down in the ranking of the number of hours people work per week

In Norway, two units of measurement are used for unemployment. NAV (the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration) uses a standard that dictates that the fully unemployed include all those seeking gainful employment by using NAV's services. Applicants must have been without gainful employment for the last 2 weeks and they must be available to take up the work applied for. Statistics Norway (SSB) measures unemployment as a percentage of the workforce (aged between 15 and 74).

Developments in the Norwegian labour market can be considered both positive and at the same time worrying. In March 2023, NAV's figures showed an unemployment rate of 1.8%. If we look at both those fully unemployed and jobseekers involved in labour market initiatives at NAV, the unemployment rate is 2.2% of the labour force. There has not been as low an unemployment rate as this since before the financial crisis in 2008. At the same time, the number of vacancies is at a record high. In other words, competition for labour is great, and there is also a significant mismatch between the skills in demand and the skills available for recruitment. In some regions, there are enough vacancies to potentially reduce unemployment to zero and still have a surplus of vacancies, subject to a match between the skills required and those offered. As in large parts of Europe, the trend is towards a tremendous lack of professional competence. Trainers of skilled workers stated in April 2023 that those who have a vocational qualification are guaranteed work in Norway. It is important to note that foreign qualifications must be formally recognised (see link for where to apply for recognition).

Changes in working life, with employers struggling to find exactly the skills they need, mean that there is, among other things, a greater need for specialised staff in companies, both among existing employees and new recruits. However, many companies do not recruit if they do not get applicants with the exact skills required, and in the last 18 months we have seen examples of companies going out of business because they cannot recruit the skills they need. Several labour market stakeholders are now criticising employers for setting too high standards in their job advertisements. A final and reverse trend seen is that employers have started to use what are known as open job advertisements, where they encourage jobseekers to apply based on looser descriptions of skills requirements, and then the company makes an assessment of whether the applicant could fit into any of the vacant positions they have in the company. It is therefore very important that jobseekers carefully familiarise themselves with what companies are looking for in their job advertisements.

Nevertheless, it is a fact that the mismatch between available skills and skills demanded continues to grow, and recruitment challenges are becoming critical for more and more companies. This is according to the latest version of the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise's (NHO) Skills Barometer for 2023, which shows that, over the past year, 46% of NHO companies have tried to recruit without obtaining the desired expertise. According to NAV’s company survey, the Norwegian labour market has a shortfall of around 70 000 employees. Health, engineering and manufacturing are among the sectors with the greatest need to recruit.

An analysis of future industrial undertakings in Norway (both those planned and those in the course of being established) shows a clear shift towards green industries. Examples of this are the establishment of several battery factories, carbon capture plants and the production of offshore wind turbines. The population and skills structure in Norway indicate that not only will it be impossible to cover the recruitment needs of new undertakings locally, but it will also be impossible to cover them nationally. However, the creation of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in the US has caused some of the undertakings in the process of establishing themselves to slow down significantly in the first quarter of 2023, in anticipation of similar support schemes in the EU/EEA area.

Links:

Among the industries with a need to recruit, there are relatively minor variations from 2022. See overview below.

We would particularly like to mention that, as part of our EURES cooperation, we are committed to practising ethical recruitment support, especially with regard to socially critical tasks such as health, where the deficit is, in some areas, large throughout the EU/EEA area.

A number of industries in industrial manufacturing are struggling to procure labour at all levels of competence within their industry. In addition, developments in industry over the last 15 years show that the nature of the work and knowledge requirements are changing relatively rapidly. Today, it is claimed that there is a half-life of 5 years for expertise. Thus, jobseekers applying for jobs in the industries where this description is relevant are dependent on acquiring new knowledge throughout their entire career (lifelong learning), and the employer has a responsibility to provide continuous professional skills upgrading.

Companies in Northern Norway and North-West Norway have the highest level of unmet skills needs (7 out of 10 companies). However, the challenges are almost as great in Oslo and the former counties of Vestfold and Sogn og Fjordane, where around 2 out of 3 companies report unmet skills needs. At the other end of the scale are the old counties (before 2020) Telemark, Hedmark and Buskerud, but even here 6 out of 10 organisations report that they have unmet skills needs. However, there are fewer geographical differences than industry differences, which is evident when it comes to unmet skills needs. Higher interest rates and high inflation have led to reduced purchasing power, which is in turn expected to cause a good number of companies to slow down on expansion and recruitment, and unemployment is expected to rise slightly into 2024.

There is an expectation that the green transition will lead to an increased need for recruitment in a number of sectors. However, the creation of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in the US has caused some of the undertakings in the process of establishing themselves to slow down significantly in anticipation of similar support schemes in the EU/EEA area. If the major developments related to the green transition are realised as originally planned, such as the establishment of battery factories in Agder and Nordland, this will create pressure on industries that are expected to be weaker in the competition for labour. In addition, establishing such factories will entail the need to develop infrastructure such as housing, schools and nursery schools. However, as mentioned, it is currently uncertain what the rate of development will be. However, NAV's business survey, showing a need for 70 000 new appointments in Norway, is an indication that labour and thus recruitment needs will be very high in the future.

Ranking of industries by number of vacancies announced in January 2023.

Unemployment in Norway in the first quarter of 2023 is at a record low (1.8% in March according to NAV), with very minor variations between the regions. In the region with the highest unemployment, it is 2.5%. In the first quarter of 2023, the situation is that the regions have more job vacancies than unemployed people. A recurring challenge, however, is that the skills sought and those offered do not match. This also applies within the same occupation/sector. A jobseeker with professional experience in a specific occupation does not necessarily have the up-to-date skills that employers currently require.

Because of the record low unemployment, it cannot be said there is a real surplus of labour. However, a large proportion of those who are unemployed need to build on or upgrade their skills. This is reflected in the fact that the category with no occupational or an undisclosed background makes up the largest group of unemployed people. Nor have we seen the full effect of the lockdowns during the pandemic and, for a number of reasons, an increase in unemployment up to and into 2024 is expected. There may also be other structural reasons for the unemployed featuring in the survey. In 2022, we saw unemployed people with a background in tourism and transport, services and other related work, office work, management and brokering and consultancy. Yet in both tourism and the services industry, and especially the restaurants and bars sector, the shortage of labour is so significant that many employers have not been able to open fully and go back to previous opening hours. Some of those who worked in the industry and became unemployed also refuse to return to an industry that they perceive as vulnerable in situations that deviate from the norm. The status is nevertheless that there are jobs to be found in industries that have an urgent deficit and need to recruit to return to the same levels of operation and the same opening hours as before the pandemic. Therefore, the group of jobseekers leaving Norway is likely to consist mainly of people who have a specific desire to work in another country; it is not a lack of work in Norway that will be the dominant triggering factor.

Unemployed ranked by occupational background.

Unemployment in Norway in the first quarter of 2023 is at a record low (1.8% in March according to NAV), with relatively minor variations between the regions. The unemployment rate was 2.2% in Oslo and 2.1% in Viken. The composition, both in terms of the educational background of the unemployed and the working life requirements for skills, appears in the overview of the professional affiliation of the unemployed and in the overview of those industries in which vacancies are advertised.

The total population of Oslo and Viken in the first quarter of 2023 was 1 995 919.

Links:

Ranking by industries and sectors that advertise the most vacancies in the first quarter of 2023:

In March 2023, NAV registered a total of 18 211 vacancies in Oslo and Viken

Below is an overview showing the top 14 on the list of industries that advertised vacancies at the beginning of 2023.

Among those who are registered as unemployed, the ranking with regard to professional background is as follows:

Unemployment in Norway in the first quarter of 2023 is at a record low (1.8% in March according to NAV), with relatively minor variations between the regions. In Innlandet the unemployment rate was 2.1% of the labour force. The composition, both in terms of the educational background of the unemployed and the working life requirements for skills, appears in the overview of the professional affiliation of the unemployed and in the overview of those industries in which vacancies are advertised.

The population of Innlandet in the first quarter of 2023 was 373 168

Links:

Ranking by industries and sectors that advertise the most vacancies during the first quarter of 2022

In March 2023, NAV registered a total of 2 328 advertised vacancies in Innlandet.

Below is an overview showing the top 15 on the list of industries that advertised vacancies at the beginning of 2023.

Among those who are registered as unemployed, the ranking with regard to professional background is as follows:

Unemployment in Norway in the first quarter of 2023 is at a record low (1.8% in March according to NAV), with relatively minor variations between the regions. In Agder, the unemployment rate was 2% of the labour force, but in South Eastern Norway (Vestfold and Telemark) it was 2.5%, the highest in the country. The composition, both in terms of the educational background of the unemployed and the working life requirements for skills, appears in the overview of the professional affiliation of the unemployed and in the overview of those industries in which vacancies are advertised.

Some large undertakings are expected to be setting up in Agder, which will lead to a significantly increased need for recruitment in the years to come.

The population of Agder and South Eastern Norway in the first quarter of 2022 was 743 623.

Links:

Ranking by industries and sectors that advertise the most vacancies in the first quarter of 2022:

In March 2023, NAV registered a total of 5 388 advertised vacancies in Agder and South Eastern Norway.

Below is an overview showing the top 14 on the list of industries that advertised vacancies at the beginning of 2023.

Among those who are registered as unemployed, the ranking with regard to professional background is as follows:

Unemployment in Norway in the first quarter of 2023 is at a record low (1.8% in March according to NAV), with relatively minor variations between the regions. In Western Norway (Rogaland, Møre og Romsdal and Vestland), the unemployment rate was 1.8%, 1.7% and 1.8% of the labour force, respectively. The composition, both in terms of the educational background of the unemployed and the working life requirements for skills, appears in the overview of the professional affiliation of the unemployed and in the overview of those industries in which vacancies are advertised. The population of Western Norway in the first quarter of 2023 was 1 403 372

Links:

Ranking by industries and sectors that advertise the most vacancies in the first quarter of 2022:

In March 2023, NAV registered a total of 12 426 vacancies in Western Norway.

Below is an overview showing the top 14 on the list of industries that advertised vacancies at the beginning of 2023.

Among those who are registered as unemployed, the ranking with regard to professional background is as follows:

Unemployment in Norway in the first quarter of 2023 is at a record low (1.8% in March according to NAV), with relatively minor variations between the regions. In Trøndelag, the unemployment rate was 1.5% of the labour force. The composition, both in terms of the educational background of the unemployed and the working life requirements for skills, appears in the overview of the professional affiliation of the unemployed and in the overview of those industries in which vacancies are advertised.

The population of Trøndelag in the first quarter of 2023 was 476 948.

Links:

Ranking by industries and sectors that advertise the most vacancies in the first quarter of 2022:

In March 2023, NAV registered a total of 4 471 advertised vacancies in Trøndelag.

Below is an overview showing the top 15 on the list of industries that advertised vacancies at the beginning of 2023.

Among those who are registered as unemployed, the ranking with regard to professional background is as follows:

Unemployment in Norway in the first quarter of 2023 is at a record low (1.8% in March according to NAV), with relatively minor variations between the regions. Unemployment is lowest in Northern Norway (Nordland, Troms and Finnmark), at 1.5% of the labour force in both counties. The composition, both in terms of the educational background of the unemployed and the working life requirements for skills, appears in the overview of the professional affiliation of the unemployed and in the overview of those industries in which vacancies are advertised.

The population of Northern Norway in the first quarter of 2023 was 482 210.

Links:

Ranking by industries and sectors that advertise the most vacancies in the first quarter of 2022:

In March 2023, NAV registered a total of 5 013 advertised vacancies in Northern Norway.

Below is an overview showing the top 15 on the list of industries that advertised vacancies at the beginning of 2023.

Among those who are registered as unemployed, the ranking with regard to professional background is as follows: