Farmers have same income as ordinary people

The average income level and material living standards of Norway's farm population are no lower than that of most people in Norway. Between 1992 and 1994, however, the income of farm households was not rising as fast as that of wage-earners and self-employed people in other industries.

The farm population has a complex income structure, of which barely half work mainly only on the farm. The other half have combined incomes, the bulk of which come from activities outside the farm.

The average net self-employment income of Norwegian farmers was NOK 102,000 in 1994. The definition of farmer in this context is quite broad, and also includes those who farm in addition to having a main occupation. Barely half of the farmers in the sample said they worked only on their farm. These farmers had an average earned income of NOK 155,000 in 1994, while a third of the farmers who had their main job outside the farm had an average work income of NOK 238,000 when combined wage and self-employment income is considered.

There are relatively large income differences between farmers in terms of age, form of production and region. Farmers over the age of 60 work mostly on the farm, and their self-employment income is also on average lower than younger farmers. Farmers in Rogaland and the lowland communities in Eastern Norway have the highest average income, while farmers in Western Norway and the valley and mountain communities of Eastern Norway have the lowest incomes. For farmers in Rogaland the high self-employment income makes the difference, while for farmers in the lowland communities in Eastern Norway, average incomes were pulled up by wage and self-employment income from sources outside farming and forestry operations.

Male farmers have on average a slightly lower income than men in the general population when farmers in the interview sample are compared to men in comparable age groups, but the differences are not big. The income level and occupational structure for women in the farm population differs little from the income level and occupational structure in the rest of the female population. Most of the women in the survey are wives or cohabitants of the farmer, while 10 per cent of the farms in the survey were operated by women. Six in 10 spouses worked outside the farm, and most had work outside the farm as their main source of income. There are pronounced differences between old and young farm women. Young farm women are on average better educated than their husbands, and most work outside the farm.

Source

Income distribution and living standards in farming.
The article will be published in Economic Analyses no. 3/98. For more information, contact, Kjetil Lund, tel. +47 21 09 48 26, e-mail: kjetil.lund@ssb.no, Torkil Løwe, tel. +47 21 09 44 98, e-mail: torkil.lowe@ssb.no, or Kari Skrede, tel. +47 21 09 48 63, e-mail: kari.skrede@ssb.no.

Weekly Bulletin issue no. 13, 1998