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WORKING IN NORWAY

Which professions in Norway have seen the largest and smallest pay rises?

Average monthly wages in Norway grew last year by the biggest margin for over 20 years. Some professions have seen considerable bumps to their salaries, while others have missed out.

Pictured are people walking on Karl Johan Street in Oslo.
Wages in Norway rose by around six percent on average in 2023. Pictured are people walking on Karl Johan Street in Oslo. Photo by Drazen_ Getty Images

New figures have revealed that the average salary in Norway grew to 56,360 kroner during 2023.

The figures from national data agency Statistics Norway showed that wages grew by six percent between November 2022 and the same month last year.

The data agency said the substantial increase was the result of an equally potent rise in the cost of living in recent years.

“The growth in monthly wages is particularly affected by the fact that wage settlements in 2023 were better than in previous years and can be seen in the context of the strong price growth in recent years,” Håkon Grini at Statistics Norway said.

Another factor was the consistently large number of vacancies in Norway.

“A high level of vacancies shows a high demand for labour, which can give employers an incentive to increase wages to attract labour,” Grini said.

READ ALSO: How much money do you need to earn in Norway for a good life in 2024?

Women saw more significant wage increases than men in 2023, and the gender wage gap decreased slightly overall. An average woman’s salary amounted to 88.3 percent of a man’s monthly pay packet.

However, while wage increases were 6 percent on average across the board, a number of industries were left behind.

Auto mechanics (4.5 percent increase), car, taxi and van drivers (4.6 percent), store employees (4.7 percent), cooks (5.4 percent), care workers (5.4 percent), food production workers (5.4 percent), domestic workers such as cleaners (5.5 percent), and waiters (5.9 percent) were the professions to see the lowest monthly increase in wages when measured by kroner.

School assistants received a six percent increase, but were still included in the professions with the lowest increase in monthly earnings.

The ten occupations also earned significantly less than the average wage, with salaries ranging between 42,770 and 34,820 kroner. Overall these workers secured monthly wage rises of between 1,700 and 2,200 kroner. 

In many of the above professions, unionising is difficult, so workers in such sectors wouldn’t have benefitted from the improved terms of the collective bargaining agreement.

Medical specialists were the group to see the largest kroner increase in their monthly earnings. The pay packet of a specialist working in medicine grew by 7.3 percent or 6,990 kroner on average. A medical specialist’s average earnings was 102,270 kroner per month in 2023.

Teachers also received considerable salary increases last year. Preschool and kindergarten teachers secured an increase of around 9.4 percent on average. In kroner terms, this amounted to a raise of 4,080 kroner to a monthly salary of 47,670 kroner per month.

High school teachers (7.9 per cent) and primary school teachers (8.5 per cent) saw their monthly wages increase by more than 4,000 kroner per month last year, too.

Managers working in the building trade, administrative managers, senior case managers in public and private business, systems analysts and architects, managing directors and engineers were the other professions to see the most significant wage raises measured by kroner in 2023.

However, several of these workers saw monthly increases much lower than the national average when measured as a percentage increase. These were managing directors (3.8 percent), admin managers (4.8 percent), systems analysts and architects (5.2 percent) and construction and building industry managers (5.8) percent.

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MONEY

How Norway has become cheaper for tourists

The recent drop in Norway's price level has made it a more appealing destination for tourists looking to visit Scandinavia without breaking the bank.

How Norway has become cheaper for tourists

Norway has long held a reputation for being one of the most expensive countries in Europe.

From sky-high prices for everyday items like groceries and dining out to costly accommodation and transportation, Norwegian prices often raise eyebrows among visitors and newcomers.

READ MORE: What will be cheaper and more expensive in Norway in 2024? 

The perception of Norway being unbelievably pricey is not unfounded; historically, its price levels have consistently ranked well above the European average.

Recent figures, however, indicate a potential shift in this dynamic.

The latest EU price statistics

In 2023, Norway’s price level was 25 percent higher than the average in EU countries, according to preliminary figures from the European purchasing power survey.

This marks a significant decrease from the previous year, when Norwegian prices were 43 percent above EU prices, as reported by Statistics Norway (SSB).

This decrease in price levels has implications for tourism.

As the cost differential shrinks, Norway becomes a more attractive destination for foreign visitors who may have previously been deterred by the high prices.

“The decrease in the price level in Norway compared to the rest of Europe has made it significantly more attractive for foreign tourists to holiday here with us.

“In return, it has become more expensive than before for Norwegians to holiday abroad,” Espen Kristiansen, a section manager at the SSB, said, according to the business newspaper e24.

Comparison with neighbouring countries

It must be noted that hotel and restaurant prices, which tend to be higher in Norway than in many European countries, still contribute to Norway’s overall high price level.

For these services, prices were still 43 percent higher than the EU average in 2023.

Comparatively, neighbouring Sweden’s prices were 14 percent higher than the EU average, down from 22 percent in 2022.

READ MORE: Five reasons why 2024 will be a good time to visit Norway

Denmark’s relative price level remained consistent, at 43 percent above the EU average, largely because the Danish krone is tied to the euro, unlike the Norwegian and Swedish currencies.

“Part of the explanation for the different developments in price levels in the Nordic countries is that the Danish krone follows the euro, unlike the Norwegian and Swedish ones,” Kristiansen said.

The most expensive country last year was Switzerland, with prices 74 percent above the EU average, according to the preliminary findings of the European purchasing power survey.

How a (relatively) weak krone also favours tourists visiting Norway

When travelling to Norway, tourists can still benefit from a favourable exchange rate (despite the currency’s recent uptick) even after taking inflation into account.

The weaker krone means visitors get more value for their money when exchanging foreign currency for Norwegian kroner.

READ MORE: How the weak Norwegian krone will affect travel to and from Norway

For instance, if a hotel room in Bergen costs 1,000 kroner per night, it would be around 88 euros at the current exchange rate. Three years ago, the same room would have cost approximately 100 euros.

Another example is dining out. A meal priced at 250 kroner (a main consisting of grilled salmon steak with vegetables, for example) is equivalent to 22 euros today, compared to 25 euros three years ago.

If you want a better understanding of how much cheaper a trip to Norway has become over time, you can use historical currency calculators to get a more exact estimate.

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