Earnings, 2007

In order to compare the wages of full-time and part-time employees, the wages of part-time employees are converted to full-time equivalents, i.e. their wages if they were working full-time. Monthly earnings of full-time employees rose by 5.8 per cent to NOK 33 400 from the third quarter of 2006 to the third quarter of 2007. In contrast, the monthly earnings of the part-time employees increased by 4.2 per cent to NOK 26 900 in the same period. There is a higher proportion of part-time employees in the public sector than in the private sector, and more women than men work part-time.

Private and public sectors

Employees in the private sector had average monthly earnings of NOK 32 800 in the third quarter of 2007, a year-on-year increase of NOK 1 800 or 5.7 per cent. In comparison, the figures for the public sector were NOK 30 700, NOK 1 500 and 5.2 per cent. Full-time employees in the private and public sector earned NOK 33 900 and NOK 31 800 respectively. For part-time employees the figures were NOK 28 500 for the public sector and NOK 25 200 for the private sector.

Women and men

Women’s wages as a proportion of men’s wages were 84.3 per cent in 2007, virtually unchanged from the previous year. In the public sector the figure was 88.1 per cent, and in the private sector 83.1 per cent.

The development of wages from 2006 to 2007 for men and women in full-time employment in the public sector was equal. Both groups had a rise in wages of NOK 1 500.

Full-time employed women in the private sector earned on average the exact same as full-time employed women in the public sector in the third quarter of 2007; NOK 30 300. The pattern was not the same for men in full-time employment as men in the private sector earned NOK 35 200 and men in the public sector earned NOK 33 800.

Associate professionals and craft workers

Full-time employed associate professionals and craft workers had a strong increase in earnings. Associate professions had an average increase in earnings of 7.1 per cent, an increase of NOK 2 500 to 37 500 in the third quarter of 2007. Craft workers had monthly earnings of NOK 29 000, an increase of NOK 1 800 or 6.7 per cent.

For occupational groups in the private sector we find that professionals, for instance civil engineers, MBAs, and legal professionals had an average increase in monthly earnings from October 2006 to October 2007 of NOK 2 600.

Senior officials and managers had average monthly earnings of NOK 50 800 in the third quarter of 2007, a year-on-year increase of 6.6 per cent. The corresponding figures for directors and chief executives were NOK 62 800 and 4 per cent. In contrast, general managers of small enterprises had average monthly earnings of NOK 39 400, an increase of 7.9 per cent.

Contractual working hours

The wage statistics defines all employees working at least 33 hours per week as full-time employees. Average contractual working hours were 37.4 hours per week in 2007, a figure which has been stable since 2004.

Wages in Norway and other countries

The annual wage statistics are reported to Eurostat as a part of the EU/EEA statistics cooperation. The purpose

of this cooperation is to enable international comparisons with regard to wages, analysed from the variables occupational group, educational group, industry, sex, and age.

Figure 4 shows gross annual wages of full-time employees in the private sector. It shows that the nominal wage level is slightly higher in Denmark than in Norway, and also that the level in Finland and Sweden is substantially lower.

Tables:

• Table 1 Average monthly earnings for full-time equivalents, by sector, sex and working hours per 3rd quarter 2006 and 2007. NOK and per cent
• Table 2 Average monthly earnings for full-time equivalents, by section per 3rd quarter 2006 and 2007. NOK and per cent
• Table 3 Average monthly earnings for full-time employees in private sector, by occupational group per 3rd quarter 2004-2007. NOK and per cent
• Table 4 Full-time employees. Average contractual working hours per week and average monthly earnings, by section . 2006-2007. Hours and NOK