Welfare benefits – labour and reception of benefits

Calculated number of hours of work in year n: The calculation of hours of work is based on the revision of the EE register used in FD-trygd. The revised output only includes persons who have been paid a salary. Persons who have been paid a salary but are not registered in the EE register are not, however, included. This means that only wage earners are included. The FD-trygd version of the EE register contains periods of employment for which employers have registered employees with a start and end date for that period. The number of days in the relevant period of employment is calculated as the number of days from the start to end date. The number of days in employment will thus include weekends, holidays and sick days. This is a measure of the number of days that the person has been employed.

The register also contains information about average hours of work per week in each period of employment. ‘Average’ is defined here as follows: when a person’s hours of work have changed during the period of employment, a weighted average of the hours of work during that period is calculated. The hours of work are defined as the agreed hours of work, which means that overtime etc. is not included in the calculation.

The calculated number of hours of work in the year for the period of employment is calculated as a product of the number of weeks in work in the year of this period of employment and the average number of hours of work for the period of employment in the week.

The calculated number of hours of work in the year for all periods of employment is calculated as a sum of the calculated number of hours of work in the year for all periods of employment the person has had during this year.

In work (in year n): In work in year n means that the calculated number of hours of work in this year is greater than zero, i.e. the person has been employed during the year. Note that ‘in work’ is derived from the calculated number of hours of work as described above, and therefore has the same weaknesses as described there.

Number of years in work: This measures how many of the calendar years in a given period that the person is registered as in work. It is not, therefore, a measure of how many months a person has worked. For example, a person who has been in work for two years in principle may only have worked in December one year and in January the next year, or in March in year n and August in year n+2.

Note: The following limitations apply to variables that use hours of work/in work/number of years in work:

• FD-Trygd employment data does not include self-employed persons, non-employed workers etc., e.g. persons who are only self-employed are not considered to be ‘in work’ in these statistics. For persons who are both wage earners and self-employed, only the wage earning aspect is calculated.
• Persons on sick leave are considered to be ‘in work’ if they are reported sick from work that is included in FD-Trygd.

100% unemployed jobseekers: This covers all persons who are seeking paid work from NAV, and who have been without such work for the last two weeks and are available to take up work. In addition to 100% unemployed jobseekers, NAV’s statistics on jobseekers also include the following groups: partly unemployed jobseekers, laid off jobseekers, jobseekers on employment measures, as well as other jobseekers.

The tables include 100% unemployed jobseekers (in a given year or a period covering several years), persons registered as 100% unemployed one or several times a year/in the period, even if they are also registered in one of the other jobseeker categories or have been working or received other benefits at other times during the year. 100% unemployed jobseekers include persons who have received unemployment benefit and those who have not received unemployment benefit in the period as a 100% unemployed jobseeker.

Disability benefit (in year n): Includes persons who received disability benefit in year n. The temporary disability benefit that was introduced in 2004 and phased out in March 2010 is not regarded as disability benefit.

Long-term recipients of sickness benefits: Long-term sickness absence/long-term recipients of sickness benefits is defined here as continuous sickness absence of 180 days or more from the start to end date during the period of sickness absence, where the start and end are defined from a continuous period in FD-trygd. Long-term sickness absence is calculated for two separate periods; from year t-5 to year t-1 (the period of sickness absence) and from year t until year t+4 (outcome period). For the period from year t-5 until year t-1 the duration of the sickness absence that started before the start of the period or after the end of the period is also included in the calculation, provided that the start or end date fall within the period and the duration is 180 days or more. For the period from year t until year t+4 the duration before the start of the period is included in the calculation, but not the duration after the end of the period. As a consequence, some long-term sickness absences will count both in the period from year t-5 until year t-1 and in the period from year t until year t+4.

This means, for example, that for the first publishing period, 2006-2010, all cases of sickness absence that start before 31 December 2005 or end after 1 January 2001 with a duration of 180 days or more are counted as long-term sickness absence in the period 2001-2005, and all cases of sickness absence starting before 31 December 2010 or ending after 1 January 2006, or which by 31 December 2010 have lasted 180 days or more, are counted as long-term sickness absence in the period 2006-2010. Cases of sickness absence of 180 days or more that occur over the new year 2005/2006 will be counted both in the sickness absence period and in the outcome period (see population for the sub-area long-term sickness absence above).

Qualification benefit: The recipients of qualification benefit are participants of a full-time qualification programme. The recipients are usually persons who have been dependent on social assistance for a longer time period and have had their capacity for work evaluated. The benefit is given for one year, with the possibility for a 1-year extension.

Number of years on social assistance: The number of calendar years in the period a person received social assistance, regardless of the amount received.

Graded disability benefit: Persons who are not considered to have a 100% disability may be entitled to a graded disability benefit if they have a disability of at least 20 per cent.

Work assessment allowance (WAA): A relatively new temporary benefit introduced on 1 March 2010, which replaces the old benefits: temporary disability benefit, vocational rehabilitation allowance and rehabilitation grant. WAA can in principle be paid to a recipient for up to 4 years, with a possible extension in certain cases.

Rehabilitation benefits: Used in these statistics as a collective term for the three previous benefits: temporary disability benefit, vocational rehabilitation allowance and rehabilitation grant (as per 1 March 2010). The term is most often used in conjunction with WAA, e.g. as WAA (and/or rehabilitation benefits) when the statistics cover the period both before and after 1 March 2010.

Social assistance:

Long-term receipt (long period, long-term recipient): 6 months or more of continuous receipt of social assistance regardless of the calendar year.

Short-term receipt: less than 6 months of continuous receipt of social assistance regardless of the calendar year.

Attachment to the labour market (disability benefit):Attachment to the labour market is defined here as a combination of different statuses, such as ‘100% unemployed jobseekers’ and ‘in work’ (see above for a definition of both) in year n before admission to disability benefit, where n is t-5, t-4, t-3, t-2 and t-1. For the first publishing period, this means combinations in the years 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 for admissions in 2010. The attachment to the labour market is measured using four categories to describe the different positions on the labour market:

1. strong position - in work/not jobseeker
2. less strong position - in work/jobseeker
3. medium position - not in work/jobseeker
4. weak position - not in work/not jobseeker

abour and social security receipt (social assistance): The purpose of this variable is to show the attachment to the labour market. The variable has the following categories in order of priority:

1. Disability benefit in year t+4 (i.e.: last year in the publishing period; 2010 for the publishing period 2006-2010 and 2013 for the publishing period 2009-2013). Persons receiving disability benefit in year t+4 regardless of whether they were in work or receiving other benefits.
2. Long-term recipients of social assistance in year t+4. Persons who in year t+4 did not receive disability benefits, but had a long period (6 months or more) of receiving social assistance.
3. In work in year t+4. Persons who in year t+4 did not receive disability benefits and were not long-term recipients of social assistance, but had work (as per the definition of ‘in work’ above). This is divided into three prioritised sub-categories:

• Persons who did not receive WAA (and/or rehabilitation benefits) and had calculated hours of work of at least 950 hours
• Persons who did not receive WAA (and/or rehabilitation benefits) and had calculated hours of work of less than 950 hours
• Persons who received WAA (and/or rehabilitation benefits) and were in work in year t+4
• Persons who did not receive disability benefit, were not long-term recipients of social assistance and were not in labour in year t+4 are grouped in the following categories:

1. In education. This is persons who according to the education register were in education in the last year of the period, i.e. in October of year t+4.
2. 100% unemployed jobseekers. Applies to persons who were not in education.
3. Recipients of WAA in t+4 and not in education and not 100% unemployed jobseekers in t+4.
4. The remainder consists of persons who do not fall into any of the categories above.

Long-term recipients of sickness benefit in the period with sick pay after attachment to the labour market in the outcome period (year t until year t+4): Based on definitions of hours of work/in work/number of years (see above)

1. Not in work in any of the years: the person is not registered as in work for any of the years in the outcome period (year t until year t+4).
2. Work in 1 year: the person is registered as in work in one of the years in the outcome period (year t until year t+4), regardless of calculated hours of work. The person was not in work in the four other years.
3. Work in 2-4 years: the person is registered as in work in two, three or four of the years in the outcome period (year t until year t+4), regardless of calculated hours of work, and during the same period has registered one year without work.
4. Work in all the years, less than 950 hours in at least 1 year: the person is registered as in work in all the years in the outcome period (year t until year t+4). In at least one of the years the person had calculated hours of work of less than 950 hours, regardless of calculated hours of work the four other years provided that it is more than 0 hours.
5. Work in all the years, at least 950 hours in 5 years: the person is registered as in work in all years in the outcome period (year t until year t+4), with calculated hours of work of 950 hours or more in all years. The person must not have calculated hours of work of 1 950 hours in more than four of the years (i.e. not all the years in the outcome period), see next category.
6. Work in all the years, at least 1 950 hours in 5 years: the person is registered as in work in all the years of the outcome period (year t until year t+4), with calculated hours of work of 1 950 hours or more in all the years. Corresponds to what is called ‘permanent full-time job’ which presents the statistics.

Long-term recipients of sickness benefit during the sickness benefit period, after receipt of benefits/in work after the sickness benefit period:

1. In work in year t+4: See definition of in work. The person is registered as in work in the last year of the outcome period.
2. WAA and/or rehabilitation benefits in year t+4: the person received WAA or rehabilitation benefits during the last year of the outcome period.
3. Disability benefit in year t+4: the person received disability benefit during the last year of the outcome period.
4. Long-term recipients of sickness benefit year t until year t+4: the person has had at least one long-term sickness absence, defined as continuous sickness absence of 180 days or more from the start to end date during the outcome period from year t until year t+4. Note that the duration before the start of the period is included here, but not the duration after the end of the period.

Exit from WAA: The variable has the following categories:

• Stopped after year t - did not receive WAA in any of the years from t+1 to t+4
• Stopped after year t+1 - did not receive WAA in any of the years from t+2 to t+4
• Stopped after year t+2 - did not receive WAA in any of the years from t+3 to t+4
• Stopped after year t+3 - did not receive WAA in year t+4
• Stopped in year t+4 - received WAA in year t+4, but not as per December in year t+4
• Received WAA in December in year t+4 – still receiving WAA as per December in year t+4
• Stopped and started WAA – received WAA in two non-successive years, with a break in between of at least one calendar year.

Note that for the categories ‘stopped after year n’ the person can also have had a break in the receipt of WAA, but in this case the break must not have lasted over a whole calendar year (but it can have lasted 12 successive months distributed over a new year).

For example, for the period 2010-2014, persons who ‘stopped WAA after 2012’ can have had a break lasting some months in 2010, 2011 or 2012, but the break must not cover a whole calendar year, and the person must not have received WAA in 2013 or 2014.

New admissions and transfers from rehabilitation benefit (WAA): Those who are transferred from old schemes are persons who before 1 March 2010 received a rehabilitation grant, the old temporary disability benefit or a vocational rehabilitation allowance, and who were transferred directly to the new WAA scheme from 1 March 2010. New admissions are persons who received WAA after 1 March 2010, but who did not come directly from one of the discontinued schemes. The difference between direct transfers from old schemes and new recipients is explained in NAV’s definition of persons who were transferred from old schemes to WAA.

Duration of receipt (WAA): The number of months of receipt of WAA in a given period. Receipt of the previous rehabilitation benefits (see definition above) is not included. For those who stopped receiving the benefit in 2010, the most months with WAA is 10.

Activity in year n (WAA): This variable gives the percentages that in a given calendar year have been in work for 950 hours or more, in work for less than 950 hours, are 100% unemployed jobseekers, recipients of disability benefit, recipients of social assistance or are long-term recipients of sickness benefit in a specific year. Each status is independent of the other, so a person can be counted as having more than one status at a time (e.g. in a calendar year a person can have been in work for less than 950 hours and been in receipt of disability benefit).

Labour participation/activity priority in year n (WAA): A prioritised combination of work and benefit/benefits. The activities are set up according to the following prioritising for persons’ activity during a given calendar year (e.g. the person is counted in the first activity that applies to them).

1. Persons who had 950 hours of work or more.
2. Persons who had less than 950 hours of work.
3. Persons who were 100% unemployed jobseekers.
4. Persons who received disability benefit.
5. Persons who received old-age benefit or AFP (early retirement benefit).
6. Persons who received social assistance (independent of duration and amount).
7. Remainder; persons who do not fall under any of the groups above.

Not relevant

Name: Welfare benefits – labour and reception of benefits
Topic: Social conditions, welfare and crime

Division for Income and social welfare statistics

National figures only

Annual

No

Not relevant

The aim of Welfare benefits – employment and receipt of benefits is to describe trends between four different welfare benefits and trends in the labour market. The four welfare benefits are social assistance, work assessment allowance, disability benefit and sickness benefit.

The data has been retrieved from the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Directorate (NAV), and we have linked various recipient variables.

In relation to disability benefit, we are primarily interested in the recipient’s attachment to the labour market before receiving the benefit. For the three other benefits, it is the period after they stop receiving the benefits that we are examining.

The purpose of the statistics on social assistance recipients is to describe their attachment to the labour market over the next five years, and describe what other types of benefits they have received from NAV during the period. This is to show the longer term perspective for recipients of social assistance in relation to the labour market and the parts of the social security system that relate to the labour market.

The purpose of the statistics on work assessment allowance is to describe those leaving the scheme’s attachment to the labour market: the scope of labour market participation, receipt of disability benefitbenefit, long-term receipt of social assistance, long-term receipt of sickness benefits, as well as unemployed jobseekers.

The purpose of the statistics on recipients of disability benefits is to describe their attachment to the labour market and receipt of different benefits from NAV in the five years before receiving disability benefit.

The purpose of the statistics on long-term recipients of sickness benefits is to study various persons’ attachment to the labour market and social security system after they stop receiving long-term sickness benefits, as well as how the different variables for these persons can mean different results. Thus, this is not an analysis of the effects of sickness absence on later labour force participation - for that we would need a control group that was not long-term sick.

The target group is the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, NAV, Directorate of Health, research communities, and the media. The statistics can also be used in local and regional government, public planning, education and public debate.

Not relevant

FD-Trygd is the basic data source for generating these new statistics.

The data source that is used in FD-Trygd (events database) is often, in principal, the same as for existing statistics in Statistics Norway and NAV. The basis for these statistics is, therefore, also the same as for existing statistics, but differing purposes and delimitations can result in minor differences, which are described in more detail for each area below. In addition, the delimitation of the population (age interval, resident as per date) is somewhat different from published statistics. This means that the new statistics will not be identical to the published statistics for each area.

Register-based employment (http://www.ssb.no/regsys)
The sources used in the register-based employment statistics are also the foundation for the employment events in FD-Trygd, but in FD-Trygd only persons who are registered in both The Central Register on Employers and Employees (EE register)and the End of the Year Certificate Register are included in the events. In addition, the register-based employment statistics are based on a reference week in November, while FD-Trygd covers the whole year.

Sickness absence (http://www.ssb.no/sykefratot/)
Sickness absence statistics are based on the sickness absence register and sample surveys, while the sickness absence events in FD-Trygd are only based on the sickness absence register.

Social assistance/qualification benefits (http://www.ssb.no/soshjelpk/)
The social assistance statistics are based on KOSTRA reporting from all Norwegian municipalities. This data is the foundation for social assistance events in FD-Trygd. Social assistance is also included in Statistics Norway’s income statistics (http://www.ssb.no/emner/05/01/)

Income statistics http://www.ssb.no/inntekt-og-forbruk

Education (http://www.ssb.no/utdanning/nokkeltall/utdanning)

Immigrants and Norwegian-born to immigrant parents (http://www.ssb.no/innvbef/)

Work assessment allowance (WAA); https://www.nav.no/no/NAV+og+samfunn/Statistikk/AAP+nedsatt+arbeidsevne+og+uforetrygd+-+statistikk/Arbeidsavklaringspenger)
NAV publishes monthly statistics on the number of persons receiving WAA, based on all recipients during the relevant month. This data is also the foundation for the WAA events in FD-Trygd. NAV’s published statistics show the number of persons receiving WAA per month, while Statistics Norway’s statistics include everyone who received WAA in the course of the year. The figures here are therefore higher than in the monthly cross-sections.

Disability benefit (https://www.nav.no/no/NAV+og+samfunn/Statistikk/AAP+nedsatt+arbeidsevne+og+uforetrygd+-+statistikk/Uforetrygd)
NAV publishes quarterly statistics on the number of persons receiving a disability benefit. These statistics show how many received disability benefit in specific months. In Statistics Norway’s statistics, the number in receipt of disability benefit covers everyone who received the benefit at least one month during a calendar year. The figures here are therefore higher than the quarterly cross-sections.

Not relevant

Not relevant

Each release of these statistics is based on a five-year period. Each of the four sub-areas in the statistics use this five-year period in slightly different ways, which is detailed under each sub-area. In the following definitions, year t is the first year of the publishing period, and the publishing period is therefore from year t until year t+4. The two first publishing periods are 2006-2010 (t=2006) and 2009-2013 (t=2009).

Work assessment allowance (WAA) was introduced on 1 March 2010. WAA tables published here are therefore only for the last two publishing periods, but because 2010 was the first year where it was possible to receive WAA, the publishing period for WAA will cover the years 2010-2014 instead. For the next release, the WAA period will coincide with the other areas.

Work assessment allowance (WAA)

The population generally covers all those who received WAA in year t and were registered as resident as per 1 January in year t and resident as per 31 December in each of the years from year t until year t+4.

The years 2010-2014 will be used for the first release since WAA was introduced in March 2010. Thus, the population is all recipients of AAP in 2010 who were resident as per 1 January 2010 and resident as per 31 December every year in the period 2010-2014 (197 868 persons in total).

In the first tables, the population is as defined above. This population forms the basis for the following tables. The tables show those who stopped receiving WAA in 2010, 2011 and 2012. Those who received WAA in year n but not in the years from n+1 until t+4 (where n = t, t+1 and t+2) make up the population of those who stopped receiving WAA in year n. For the first release, this means that those who stopped receiving WAA in 2010 did not receive WAA in the years 2011-2014, and for those who stopped receiving WAA in 2011/2012 did not receive WAA in the years 2012-2014/2013-2014.

Long-term recipients of sickness benefit

The population in this part of the statistics is made up of persons who have been long-term recipients of sickness benefit (see under ‘Definitions’) in the years from t-5 until t-1, and who are registered as resident as per 31 December every year from t until t+4.

For the first two publishing periods this covers:

• Those who were long-term recipients of sickness benefit in the period 2001-2005 and registered as resident as per 31 December 2006-2010 (387 707 persons in total)
• Those who were long-term recipients of sickness benefit in the period 2004-2008 and registered as resident as per 31 December 2009-2013 (390 076 persons in total)

The period from year t-5 until year t-1 is known as the sick leave period,and the period from year t until year t+4 is the outcome period. In this sub-area, we are therefore following the same individuals over a 10-year period. Although these two populations are followed over ten years (which mostly overlap), we refer to them as different cohorts.

The age range is 18-62 years as per 1 January in year t-1 (the end of the sick leave period). This age range was used in order to capture the most important target group for sickness benefits, and to exclude those who would retire at 67 before the end of the outcome period.

Disability benefit

The statistics for disability benefit examine two different populations; one population to study what new recipients of the benefit did before they started disability benefit, and one population to study what those who stopped receiving disability benefit did afterwards.

The population for admission to disability benefit is made up of all recipients who started receiving disability benefit in year t+4 and were registered as resident as per 31 December in year t+4. Admission in this context means that a person received disability benefit in a specific year, but not the year before. For the first publishing period, this covers everyone who started receiving disability benefit in 2010, but did not receive it in 2009, and who was registered as resident as per 31 December 2010.

The exit population for disability benefit is defined as follows: everyone who stopped receiving disability benefit in year n+1, and who was resident as per 1 January in year n (where n = t, t+1, t+2 and t+3). For the first publishing period, this means those who:

• received disability benefit in 2006, stopped in 2007 and were resident as per 1 January 2006, or
• received disability benefit in 2007, stopped in 2008 and were resident as per 1 January 2007, or
• received disability benefit in 2008, stopped in 2009 and were resident as per 1 January 2008, or
• received disability benefit in 2009, stopped in 2010 and were resident as per 1 January 2009

Social assistance

The population is made up of all recipients of social assistance in year t who were registered as resident and in the age group 18-62 years as per 1 January in year t, and who were resident as per 31 December in every year from t until t+4.

The statistics are primarily based on data from FD-trygd (http://www.ssb.no/fd-trygd). FD-trygd is an events database where events (for the different areas included in FD-Trygd) are dated with a start and stop date, and often with a change date. For example, the start date for a person who starts receiving disability benefit will be the month that they actually started receiving the benefit, and the stop date will be the last month they received the benefit.

Where a change is made to the amount of benefit paid, the date of change will be entered in the database to reflect this. A date of change will also be entered each time a change occurs in a dated variable in an event. Read more about FD-Trygd in one of the documents (http://www.ssb.no/a/fd-trygd/dok.html).

In addition, we have retrieved information on highest completed education from the National Education Database (NUDB; http://www.ssb.no/a/metadata/om_datasamlinger/nudb/nudb.html)

Relevant documentation

FD-Trygd (http://www.ssb.no/omssb/tjenester-og-verktoy/data-til-forskning/fd-trygd):

Demographics (residents and immigrants and country background):
http://www.ssb.no/sosiale-forhold-og-kriminalitet/artikler-og-publikasjoner/fd-trygd-dokumentasjonsrapport-demografi-revidert-1992-2010

Pensions:
http://www.ssb.no/sosiale-forhold-og-kriminalitet/artikler-og-publikasjoner/fd-trygd-dokumentasjonsrapport-pensjoner-2005-2010

Temporary disability benefit:
http://www.ssb.no/emner/03/04/notat_201022/notat_201022.pdf

Medical rehabilitation and vocational rehabilitation allowance: http://www.ssb.no/emner/03/04/notat_200724/notat_200724.pdf

Employment/jobs:
http://www.ssb.no/emner/03/04/notat_201026/notat_201026.pdf

Jobseekers:
http://www.ssb.no/emner/03/04/notat_201036/notat_201036.pdf

Social assistance:
http://www.ssb.no/emner/03/04/notat_201148/notat_201148.pdf

Not relevant

Not relevant

Not relevant

Not relevant

See the paragraph on sources of error in About the statistics for social assistance (http://www.ssb.no/sosiale-forhold-og-kriminalitet/statistikker/soshjelpk/aar/2014-06-24?fane=om#content).

See the paragraph on sources of error for register-based employment statistics (http://www.ssb.no/arbeid-og-lonn/statistikker/regsys/aar/2014-06-13?fane=om#content)

Some of the sources of error mentioned here do not apply to the information from the EE register that is entered in FD-trygd since this does not include the self-employed or persons registered with a salary from the End of the Year Certificate, but not in the EE register.

Not relevant