Labour
Statistical sources
Statistics on wage earners employed in mining and manufacturing are available back to 1850 and up to 1900. From 1935 to 1946 Statistics Norway compiled a quarterly index of employment, based on returns from a representative sample of enterprises in various branches of industry.
In the years 1948-1970 statistics on employed wage earners were compiled on the basis of returns furnished by the local health insurance offices in respect of compulsory members. For the years 1960-1970 statistics are available also on self-employed persons. After the integration of the National Health Insurance System and the National Insurance System from 1 January 1971, the source of these statistics disappeared. Therefore, in 1972, the quarterly Labour Force Sample Surveys (LFS) were started, but the figures from this source are not quite comparable to the earlier data. Further information about the previous statistics can be found in Historical Statistics 1978.
This chapter is mainly based on data from population censuses, national accounts and the labour force sample surveys.
Figures from population censuses
The tables 9.1-9.4 are based on material from the population censuses from 1875. The scope of censuses as well as their notions have been changed several times since 1875. In order to achieve series of comparable figures along with arriving at the main features in the development, many of the original figures have been corrected. The figures for 1875-1970 correspond well with the figures in table 6 in Historical Statistics 1978, but the text has been somewhat changed.
The definition of " persons economically active" has varied some in the censuses and especially since 1960. Before 1960 a person was counted as being economically active when the person reported that he/she had a main occupation and that the income from this was the main source of subsistence. The lower age limit was then 15 years of age. In 1970 the age limit for economically active was raised to 16 years, and the question about occupation was phrased in such a way that also married women as family workers should report the number of hours and if the income from own work was the main source of subsistence. In that way more economically active than before were registered, especially in agriculture. For 1980 and 1990 the tables include as economically active the ones which had worked more than 1 000 hours a year. Calculations have shown that there is a good correlation between "working at least 1 000 hours" and "to have a main occupation as the most important source of subsistence".
The way the groups have been put together by industry has also been changed several times; something that has made it difficult to make comparisons over time. In order to rectify this, the figures have been corrected with basis in the most detailed industry and occupation tables from the censuses as far back as to 1875. Even after a regrouping there is no guarantee for complete uniformity regarding classification, but the figures are good enough to show the main development for most of the industries.
The figures for persons economically active in the tables 9.1-9.4 are lower than the ones which most often are used today. This is because the figures only comprise the economically active that worked enough for the income to be the most important source of subsistence.
National accounts statistics
The national accounts provide estimates on employed persons, full-time equivalent man-years and man-hours worked by kind of activity. The estimates are specified according to job status (employees/self-employed) and according to sex. The national accounts figures are compiled by using various data sources and are available as consistent annual time-series from 1962. There are also earlier estimates on full-time equivalent man-years back to 1930.
Labour force sample surveys
Up to the 2nd quarter of 1988, the sample consisted of 6 000 family units or about 12 000 persons aged 16-74. Since the 2nd quarter of 1988, the sample has gradually been expanded, and at the end of 1989 the sample had reached 21 000 persons. The expansion was finished in the 2nd quarter of 1990, with a size of 24 000 persons per quarter. The estimates from the LFS have some uncertainty due to the sampling procedure.
Terms
The terms and definitions used in the LFS are in accordance with recommendations given by the International Labour Organization (ILO). The reference period is one week (the survey week), and persons aged 16-74 are classified on the basis of their attachment to the labour market during the survey week.
The main terms used in the LFS are defined as follows:
Employed persons are defined as persons performing work for pay or profit for at least one hour in the survey week, and persons who were temporarily absent from work because of illness, holidays etc. Since 1980, conscripts have been included as employed persons.
Non-employed persons seeking work (i.e. unemployed) are persons who were not employed in the survey week, but who were seeking employment during the four preceding weeks, and who were available for work during the survey week.
Persons in the labour force are either employed persons or non-employed persons seeking work.
The figures on unemployment (non-employed persons seeking work) based on the LFS differ from the figures on unemployed persons registered at the Employment Offices. The figures based on the LFS also include unemployed persons not registered at the Employment Offices, but who were seeking work in other ways, for example by answering advertisements.
Interruptions in the time series
Changes in definitions, the formulation of questions, estimating procedures and survey weeks have led to some breaks in the time series for the LFS estimates.
In 1975 a new estimation procedure was introduced. This new procedure gave somewhat higher estimates for the population and employment (22 000 and 13 000, respectively).
During the 1st quarter of 1976 a new questionnaire was introduced. This resulted in an increase in the number of persons employed by about 30 000.
According to later ILO recommendations, the LFS began to include conscripts among the employed in 1987. The estimates from 1980 and onwards have been adjusted, resulting in an increase in the number of persons employed by 20-25 000, mainly in the age group 20-24 years.
According to the new ILO recommendations, all family workers without fixed wages shall be registered as employed. Previously, family workers had to work 10 hours or more in the survey week to be classified as employed. In 1986 the number of employed persons increased by 15 000, as the time requirement was suspended that year.
Since the 1st quarter of 1987, certain changes have been made in the estimation procedure for the LFS. The time series were revised back to 1980, resulting in a break in the series.
During the 2nd quarter of 1988 a new questionnaire was introduced. The changes in the questionnaire led to a break in the time series for the actual working hours per week. Using the new questionnaire, a greater part of the respondents' additional jobs are registered, leading to higher estimates for working hours. Moreover, fewer respondents give answers concerning their regular working hours when they are asked about their actual working hours.
Since the 2nd quarter of 1988, data have been collected monthly in the LFS. Earlier, the surveys were based on one week each quarter. This change in the survey weeks led to somewhat higher estimates for employed persons (up to 10 000 as an annual average).
Registered unemployment
The statistics are compiled by the Directorate of Labour. Unemployed persons are those among the applicants for work registered at the Employment Offices who were not working for pay or profit. Persons on government employment schemes and students seeking holiday jobs are not counted as unemployed in this register.
During the years before 1948 (back to 1904), the unemployment statistics only include unemployed trade unionists (as a percentage of the total membership, see Historical Statistics 1978).
Labour conflicts
The statistics are compiled by Statistics Norway, on the basis of information mainly furnished by the labour and employers' organizations. The statistics comprise both official and unofficial conflicts. Work stoppages of less than one day's duration are not included.
Development trends
Long-term changes in the economically active popu- lation and employment
Figures from the population censuses 1875-1990 show a decline in the percentage of all persons over 15 years who are classified as economically active.
The national accounts estimates indicate a major redistribution of employment from commodity producing industries to service industries in the period 1962-1991. In agriculture, forestry and fishing, employment has been reduced by 170 000 persons in this period, while manufacturing, mining and quarrying and electricity have experienced a reduction of nearly 70 000 jobs. There has been a substantial employment increase in wholesale and retail trade, hotels and restaurants, with 110 000 new jobs, and in financial and business services with about 105 000 new jobs. The strongest increase has taken place in local government, which grew 330 000 from 1962 to 1991.
The national accounts estimates indicate 5 per cent decrease of total man-hours worked from 1962 to 1991, see table 9.16. The number of employed persons has increased by 30 per cent in the same period. The reduction of the average working hours is mainly due to reduced standard working time (from 45 to 37,5 hours per week), and increased part-time work.
Female labour force participation
Females accounted for about three-fourths of the increase in employment which occurred during the 1970s and 1980s up to 1987. From 1987 to 1991 there was a clear decline in the number of employed persons, especially among men.
Labour force participation among persons aged 16-74 went up from 61.4 per cent in 1972 to a top level of 71.3 per cent in 1987. The participation rate subsequently declined to 68.5 per cent in 1991.
The strong increase in labour force participation during the 1970s and 1980s is a result of women's entry into the labour market. In the early 1970s, only 45 per cent of the women were in the labour force, while the percentage had increased to 63.7 by 1987. Then the rate went down to 62.3 in 1991. By comparison, men's participation was rather stable at 78-79 per cent until 1988. Thereafter it was reduced to 74.6 per cent in the period up to 1991. Among women aged 30-39, participation rate rose from 50 per cent in the early 1970s to 80 per cent at the end of the 1980s. In the age group 25-29 years, there was a similar development, but the figures were lower.
Participation rate for the older groups and young people
For men aged 55-66, labour force participation has been strongly reduced since the second half of the 1970s. This is due to different schemes for "early retirement", particularly the disability pension.
For the group 67-74 years, which is covered by the ordinary old-age pension, participation was halved from the early 1970s and up to 1991. This has to be seen in connection with the decline of employment in the agricultural sector.
From the early 1970s up to the middle of the 1980s, the participation rate for persons aged 16-19 fluctuated at 40 and 45 per cent. Then it went up to 53 per cent in 1987, mostly as part-time work in addition to school. A similar development took place for those aged 20-24 years, but for them the increase from 1984 to 1987 was mostly due to full-time work. After 1987 there was a strong reduction in the participation rate for persons aged 16-24, particularly because full-time work has been replaced by full-time education or studies (or qualification measures).
The significance of education for labour force participation
Members of the labour force with highest education at the primary school level have been halved in the period 1976-1991, among both women and men (from 35 to 18 per cent), according to table 9.11. At the same time the share with educations at university level has been doubled (from 13 to 25 per cent).
Participation trends for groups at different educational levels show the largest increase for women with 11-12 years of education (secondary school, level II) from 1976 to 1991 (an increase of 14-15 per cent). For women with the lowest education (primary school level), there was a stable low participation rate, while there was an increase of about 10 per cent for the other groups.
The distribution between full-time and part-time work
In the early 1970s more than half of all employed females were full-time workers. Then the full-time share went down to 45 per cent up to 1983, before rising to over 50 per cent in the last half of the 1980s.
The decline in full-time jobs for women from 1975 to 1983 was mainly countered by a rising share of long part-time jobs (20-34 hours), but shorter part-time jobs also increased. Subsequent to 1983 the increase in the full-time share was followed by a similar decline in the share of long part-time jobs for women as a whole.
Changes in the occupational distribution
In the period 1972-1991, the largest growth was in the number of jobs in the professions of "technical, physical science, humanistic and artistic work", which mostly consists of occupations within education and research, and health and welfare services. Here employment increased by about 270 000 jobs, whereof 66 per cent were for women (table 9.14). During the two last decades the number of jobs in this group of professions has doubled. The same has happened to "administrative executive work", where the increase was 40 000 men and 30 000 women.
On the other hand, there was a strong decline in the number of persons employed in manufacturing, etc. from 1972 to 1991 (down 100 000), and farmers and fishermen (down 80 000).
Unemployment
During the entire period from the Second World War until the early 1980s, unemployment in Norway was about 1-2 per cent of the labour force (table 9.15-9.17). In 1983 it went up to 3.4 per cent, according to the Labour Force Sample Surveys (LFS), but then fell back to 2.0 per cent during the next three years. From the late 1980s and onwards, unemployment increased considerably. By 1991 it had reached 5.5 per cent.
Normally the unemployment figures from LFS ("non-employed persons seeking work) show higher numbers than those presented by the Directorate of Labour. The difference occurs because LFS also includes applicants who have not registered at an employment office. This particularly concerns newcomers to the labour market (without insurance rights), especially persons with higher education. In addition, some of the people on labour market measures are counted as unemployed by the LFS. In about 1983-84 on the other hand, when unemployment was relatively high, the deviation between these two unemployment figures tapered off, mostly because of increased registration-interest among young job-seekers (among other things to be able to qualify for labour market measures), and also because some older persons with "long-lasting unemployment periods" defined themselves as having taken "early retirement" instead of being active job-applicants in the LFS.