Employees
19. Jun 2025
29,930 employees in May — up 0.1% year-on-year
Employee numbers continue to grow, but the growth has slowed down in the past year, as seen in the trend after adjusting for seasonal variations and other random changes.
In May, there were 29,930 employees in the Faroes. This is 37 employees (0.1%) more than in May 2024.
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Decreasing female representation in private employment
In May, there were about 15,180 male and about 14,750 female employees. Compared with May 2024, we see an increase of 59 men (0.4%) and 22 women (0.1%).
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In May, 56% of all employees worked for employers under private control. The proportion is higher for men, with three out of four working in this group. For women, this figure is one in three.
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The number of employees working under private control fell 0.3% year-on-year. This is due to a reduction in female employees in this group, decreasing by 66 individuals (1.2%) year-on-year. The figure for men shows a slight increase.
Meanwhile, for employers under public control, there has been an increase in employees of both sexes. Here, women represented 44% (up 0.5%) and men 50% (up 1.3%).
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Public sector and fisheries leads job creation
Of the economic activities at the first level of the NACE classification, ‘Agriculture, forestry and fishing’ saw the highest employee growth, with 138 employees (6.8%) compared to May 2024. Within this category, ‘Pelagic fisheries’ saw a particularly high increase of 83 persons (15%). The second highest employee growth at the first level was registered in ‘Human health and social work activities’, with 51 employees (1.1%). Within this category, ‘Residential care activities’ demonstrated substantial growth, with 99 additional employees, marking a 3.3% year-on-year increase.
The biggest decrease in employees was registered in ‘Accommodation and food service activities’, which experienced a year-on-year decline of 70 employees (6.2%).
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Non-resident employee growth stalls
To qualify as a long-term resident, an individual must have resided in the Faroe Islands for half of their life or for 7 out of 10 consecutive years at some point in their life.
Recent years have seen a significant increase in employees without long-term residency status. This growth has now slowed down, as shown in the graph below. In May, there was a year-on-year increase of just over 50 employees (2.4%) without long-term residency. For comparison, this increase was 17% in the period from May 2022 to May 2023.
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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
In the first half of 2024 the 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 'Outdated' in the statbank.