Employment, register-based, 2015, 4th quarter

In the 4th quarter of 2015, 814,000 people in Norway had their main job in central government, municipal or county administration, which together constitute the public administration. This corresponds to 31.5 per cent of the total employment in Norway. The private sector (including public enterprises) had more than 1.77 million employed persons.

Troms county had the highest share of employed persons in public administration with a percentage of 43.6, followed by Finnmark and Nordland counties with 42 and 39.9 per cent respectively. Oslo had the lowest share with a percentage of 26. Other counties with a low share of employees in public administration were Rogaland (26.9 per cent) and Akershus (28.2 per cent).

If we only look at the part of the administration that involves the central government, we again find that Troms had the highest share of employees with 18.9 per cent. Oslo followed with the second highest share (16 per cent), while Rogaland, Møre og Romsdal and Buskerud had the lowest shares, with 7.4, 8.2 and 8.6 per cent respectively.

A new data source

As from 2015, the register-based employment statistics will be based on a new data source for employees. Until the end of 2014, the main data source was The Central Register on Employers and Employees (EE register), produced by the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Organisation (NAV). In 2015, this reporting to NAV was coordinated with the reporting of earnings and personnel data to the Tax Administration and Statistics Norway. This common reporting system is called “a-ordningen” (the a-system). A-ordningen provides a better data basis compared to the EE register, as it is more accurate on the individual level in addition to covering a greater number of employees. Furthermore, it provides more frequent statistics for wage earners and can provide highly detailed figures on the development in the labour market. These include figures at the municipal level by age and industry.

Change in the time series

With the transition to the new data source, we will obtain more precise figures on the number of employed persons. When using this new source, the number of employed persons is 60 000 lower than in the old data base, which used the number employed in the country from the Labour Force Surveys as the base. This is a modest difference of 2.4 per cent compared to the total number employed, but as a result of the change in the data base the register numbers for the number employed in the 4th quarter of 2014 compared to the 4th quarter of 2015 do not express an actual change. When looking at changes in the number employed at the national level between 2014 and 2015, it is the LFS figures on persons employed in Norway that should be used. It is also possible to use the quarterly national accounts, which provide figures on employment by industry. Those who work in Norway without being a part of the Norwegian population are also included in the quarterly national accounts.

Overall, Statistics Norway considers the quality of the register-based employment statistics to have improved as from 2015. Because of some challenges in the data in the new register, we will not publish tables with a breakdown for number of hours worked. Efforts are being made to improve the quality of reporting, and Statistics Norway is testing new methods to address deficiencies in this reporting. Tables including hours worked will thus be published at a later date.