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WORKING IN NORWAY

What’s behind Norway’s highest sick leave level for 15 years?

Sick leave in Norway is at its highest level for 15 years, and the country's labour and welfare administration said Thursday that an increase in people off work due to mental health was one of the factors.

Published: 5 September 2024 10:50 CEST
Pictured is a coffee cup next to tissues.
Sick leave in Norway is at its highest level for 15 years. Pictured is an array of items to illustrate illness. Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

The Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV) said on Thursday that Norway’s sick leave level was 7.1 percent in the second quarter of 2024.

This is the highest sickness level measured since 2009. In total, 10.6 million working days were lost due to illness during the second quarter.

Some 1.7 million days were lost due to workers calling in sick. Workers in Norway can report themselves sick for up to three days before their employer can request a sick note.

READ MORE: How long can you take off work without a sick note in Norway?

The majority of the days, some 9.1 million, were lost to employees signed off from work by a doctor.

NAV director Hans Christian Holte said that sick leave due to psychological problems was rising the fastest.

“Sickness absence continues to increase from an already high level, which is serious. It is still sickness absence due to psychological problems that is increasing the most, and this has a big impact on the statistics because these absences are often long-term,” he said.

Mental health issues accounted for just under a quarter of all work days lost due to sick leave.

“It is unknown what this increase is due to, and it is probably very complex. We need a better understanding of the reasons for this development,” Holte said.

However, musculoskeletal disorders were still the most common cause of sick leave at around 33 percent.

Workers aged between 60-64 had the highest levels of sick leave. However, the people aged 25-39 saw the most significant increase in sickness absence.

Norway’s government has said it wants to cut down the number of people on sick leave.

“We understand that the parties in working life also want to reduce absenteeism and that they understand the need for clearer measures,” jobs minister Tonje Brenna said.

Negotiations between the state, unions, and employer organisations will begin on Monday to reach a new agreement on working conditions with the aim of reducing sick leave.

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For members

WORKING IN NORWAY

The industries in Norway where foreigners make above average wages

Foreign residents typically earn less than their Norwegian colleagues, according to official statistics. However, there are some occupations where overseas workers make more than the national average.

Published: 11 September 2024 12:56 CEST
The industries in Norway where foreigners make above average wages

Immigrants make just over ten percent less than the national average, according to statistics from data agency Statistics Norway.

The average monthly wage for immigrants was 50,270 kroner in 2023, compared to the national figure of 56,360 kroner. The figures on earnings from Statistics Norway are pre-tax. 

If you’re a foreign worker and feeling underappreciated after reading these figures, there is no need to be too alarmed as there are a number of industries where workers from abroad make more than Norwegians.

This is because those from North America and Oceania, the Nordic countries, which were members of the EU/EFTA before it was expanded in 2004, made more than the national average last year overall, figures on earnings by immigration category by Statistics Norway show.

READ ALSO: How much money do Norway’s different foreigners make?

The industries where immigrants make more

Workers from North America, Oceania, and the pre-2004 EU countries make more in managerial roles than their Norwegian peers do.

The average monthly wage for a manager in Norway was 82,300 kroner in 2023 compared to 93,650 and 90,440 kroner for North Americans, foreign residents originally from Oceania, and workers from the pre-2004 EU countries.

One explanation for this could be senior staff from overseas being more likely to work at a large international firm that pays higher wages than smaller Norwegian firms.

Another could be workers moving from countries with high wages needing more financial incentives to take roles in Norway than those from poorer countries.

Furthermore, international professionals made more than Norwegians. The overall average for someone classed as a professional in Norway was 63,756 kroner per month, while for immigrants, the average pay packet was 65,370 kroner.

Workers from the other Nordic countries, North Americans, foreign residents originally from Oceania, and workers from the pre-2004 EU countries once again made more than the average.

They were also joined by Asian workers and those from Latin America and the Caribbean, who made slightly more than the average.

The only immigrants classed as professionals who made less than the average were those from Africa, countries that joined the EU after 2004, and Europeans from countries that aren’t part of the EU/EFTA/UK.

Fewer immigrants in the technical professions made more than the average, though. This time, only those from the Nordics, North America, the pre-2004 EU countries, and citizens from Latin America and the Caribbean took home above-average monthly checks.

In these professions, North Americans made nearly 10,000 kroner per month more than the average.

The number of internationals making more than the average shrinks even further when looking at the clerical and support occupations. There, only Nordic citizens and workers from pre-2004 EU countries saw their wages outpace the locals’.

Service and sales occupations were even less lucrative for foreign workers. Only African and Nordic immigrants made more than the average in these jobs.

Nationals from countries that joined the European Bloc before 2004 are the immigrants who tend to consistently out-earn locals. Only they and Nordic nationals out of the country’s pool of foreign workers made more than the average of 42,720 kroner per month in the skilled agricultural, forestry, and fishery sectors.

Coming to Norway with a trade also only really paid off if you were from the Nordics, North America or pre-2004 EU countries, according to the figures.

However, given that several professions in Norway pay much better overall than they would in many other countries they are still attractive to foreign workers even if they end up earning slightly less than the industry average.

When it came to factory work and machinery operation, those from North America and the Nordics were once again wage winners while other immigrants fell short of the average.

In what Statistics Norway classed as elementary occupations, only Nordic citizens made more than the overall average.

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