Employees
19. Nov 2025
30.096 employees in October — up 200 year-on-year
Employee numbers continue to grow, but the growth has slowed down in the past years, as seen in the trend after adjusting for seasonal variations and other random changes.
In October, there were 30.096 employees in the Faroes. This is 206 (0.7%) more employees than in October 2024.
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In October, there were about 15,400 male and 14,700 female employees. This represents a year-on-year increase of 109 male and 97 female employees. Both are a growth rate of 0.7%.
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Second largest increase in Nes Municipality
Dividing employees on municipality of residence, i.e. where the employee lives, Tórshavn Municipality had the largest increase in employee numbers compared with the same month last year. Here they were 102 more employees. Second is Nes Municipality with 52 employees and third Sjóvar Municipality with 35 employees. The largest decrease in numbers was in Tvøroyra and Vágs Municipalities with respectively 15 and 14 fewer employees.
By ratio Skálavíkar Municipality had the largest increase with 17,6 per cent or 12 employees. On the other hand, Fámjin Municipality had the largest proportional decrease with 10,4 per cent or five employees.
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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.