Employees
15. Oct 2024
29,584 employees in September – up 0.8% year-on-year
Employee numbers are growing, but the growth has slowed down over the past year. This is especially evident if we look at the trend after adjusting for seasonal variations and other random changes. In September, there were 29,584 employees in the Faroe Islands. This is 231 people, or 0.8%, more than in September last year.
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More growth among female workers
In September, there were about 15,100 male and 14,500 female employees. This represents a year-on-year increase of 102 males (0.7%) and 129 females (0.9%).
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Biggest age group: 30-39
The 30-39 age group leads the labour force, comprising more than 20% of employees. More than 54% of all employees in September were aged 40 or above.
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Two-thirds reside in Suðurstreymoyar- or Eysturoyar region
The map below shows employee distribution by region. The distribution is fairly steady over time. About two thirds of all employees reside in Suðurstreymoy (the capital region) or Eysturoy.
More regional statistics on employment are found here: Norðoya region, Eysturoyar region, Norðstreymoyar region, Suðurstreymoyar region, Vága region, Sandoyar region, Suðuroyar region
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One-third of employees without long-term residency are Asians
To qualify as a long-term resident, one must have lived half of one's life or 7 out of 10 consecutive years in the Faroe Islands once in one's life. The graph below, outlining the trend in the number of employees by residency status (with or without long-term residency), shows that half of those without long-term residency are still from Europe (especially northern and eastern Europe). However, the proportion of employees with Asian citizenships has grown the most in recent years and now makes up a third of the total. Compared to September 2023, the number of employees with Asian citizenship and without long-term residency increased by 50 (7.5%).
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About the employee statistics
Statistics Faroe Islands’ employee statistics include persons aged 13 or over who receive wages taxed at source (known as A-income in the Faroes) in the registered month, corresponding to at least 4 hours per month through the pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) tax system.
Statistics on employees and jobs follow the guidelines in the International Labor Organization (ILO) manuals on employees and jobs under the United Nations. The ILO defines an employee as a person of working age who has been employed by an employer for at least a short period and has produced goods or provided services for a wage. This includes a) employed persons who have worked at least 1 hour during the period (typically set to 1 week) and b) employed persons who are temporarily out of work (due to e.g. sick leave, parental leave or time off in lieu).
The source of employee statistics is monthly A-income through the PAYE tax system. In accordance with the international standard of at least 1 hour per week, the monthly wage threshold is calculated as 4 hours of wages per employee, since there are about four weeks in a month. The hourly wage is set as minimum wage + holiday pay as per the agreement between the Faroese Labour Union and the Faroese Employers' Union. This means that if the monthly wage is below the limit, the person is not considered an employee that month. According to the Faroese Work and Safety Inspectorate, 13 is set as the lower age limit in the statistics as children younger than 13 cannot be employed.
Updates to employee statistics
The employee statistics system was revised in the first half of 2024 and is now more detailed than before. Key updates include:
- Main activity according to NACE Rev. 2 (2008). The employee statistics are restructured to comply with the internationally comparable classification NACE rev. 2. (2008). Levels 1 and 2 of the classification are directly comparable. In level 3, some selected sub-industries are further divided to accommodate special Faroese conditions. The main industry is the industry in which the employer has the most activity.
- Institutional sector. Employee figures can now be classified according to whether the employer is under public or private ownership. The sector classification is based on the international classification in Eurostat’s ‘European system of accounts’. The sectoral division in the statbank is a simpler configuration of this classification.
- Employees’ citizenships are further broken down into regions and continents.
- Residency status, showing wage trends of individuals with or without long-term residency status.
- The revised statistics include various new elements:
- Employees (main job), which is the number of employed persons associated with the job for which they receive the highest salary. A person is only counted once.
- Main and minor jobs, which counts the total number of jobs together. A person can be counted multiple times if the person has more than one employer.
- Minor jobs, which only counts jobs that employees have in addition to the main job. One person can be counted multiple times if the person has more than one employer.
- Jobs across industries, where one job per person can only be counted once in each economic activity/institutional sector. However, if the person has jobs with employers in different industries/sectors, the jobs are counted for each economic activity/institutional sector.
- Employers, which is the number of employers. They are only counted once, in the economic activity/institutional sector where their main activity is.
Revised statistics
Employee statistics have been updated and revised. This has brought about a slight increase in the total number of employees. On average, the number of employees is now 500-1,500 higher each month, for various reasons. Primarily because the new statistics cover a wider age range. The previous figures covered ages 16-74, but now anyone aged 13 or over is included. Other changes include a lower wage threshold value, the addition of more parental leave registrations and the fact that certain payments through the PAYE tax system, previously not considered wages, are now correctly recorded as wages. Most of these payments were previously registered as public benefits, and the new registration affects the employee statistics. With these changes, the latest figures cannot be compared to previous data. The old tables are, however, still accessible in the statbank but will no longer be updated. These tables are labelled 'Discontinued' in the statbank.