Wage expenditures
14. Feb 2024
DKK 940 million in wages in January – up 8% year-on-year
Wage expenditures have seen steady growth since autumn 2020.
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Men 60%, women 40%
DKK 561 million was paid to male employees in January, which represents 60% of all wages paid. This is DKK 49 million (8.7%) more than in January 2023. Female employees were paid DKK 377 million, a year-on-year increase of DKK 27 million (7.7%).
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Growth across all industrial sectors
Wage expenditures in the ‘governmental and other services’ sector have increased steadily, with an increase of 9.3% in the past year.
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Wage expenditures in the ‘private services’ sector have also risen steadily in recent years, up 4.4% year-on-year in January 2024.
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The ‘construction and other manufacturing’ sector experienced a steady decline in wage expenditures for almost two years after the Covid pandemic. The wage growth is now back to pre-pandemic levels. Compared to January 2023, wages increased by 11.9% in January 2024.
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Wage expenditures in the ‘fishery and other natural resources’ sector tend to have higher monthly fluctuations than in the other industrial sectors. The year-on-year growth in January 2024 was 10.6%.
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Highest percentage growth in construction and other manufacturing
The table below outlines wage expenditures in the past 12 months compared to the previous 12-month period.
Measured in monetary terms, wages in the past year increased the most in the ‘governmental and other services’ sector. The highest relative wage growth (8.6%) was registered in ‘construction and other manufacturing’. ‘Fish processing’ was the only industry branch with lower year-on-year wage expenditures in January 2024.
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Overseas employees accounted for DKK 25 million in wages
The graph below shows wages that Faroese companies have paid to employees residing overseas. The figure for January 2024 was DKK 24.6 million, making up 2.6% of the total.
Wages for employees residing abroad dropped by about DKK 20 million (46%) from December 2023 to January 2024. Male employees represented 19 million of this drop. Compared to January 2023, however, there is an increase in wages for overseas employees of DKK 1.2 million, or 5%.
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About wage expenditures
Wage expenditure statistics include all wages paid through the pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) tax system by enterprises and institutions that are economically active in the Faroe Islands.
All wage expenditures meeting the above requirements will be counted in regardless of the employee’s country of residence.
About the trend
The trend describes the wage expenditure trend by adjusting for seasonal effects and error components in the figures.
About the main industrial sectors
Grouped under the ‘fishery and other natural resources’ sector are the following branches: agriculture, fishing, aquaculture, extraction of raw materials, fish processing and activities not elsewhere indicated.
The ‘construction and other manufacturing’ sector includes: shipyards/machine shops, other manufacturing, construction and energy.
The ‘private services’ sector includes: trade and repair, hotels and restaurants, sea transport, other transport, communications, finance and insurance, business services. household services and organisations, culture, etc.
‘Governmental and other services’ includes: public administration and services (central administration, municipalities, education, health and social work), government institutions and the Ministries of Education and Health.