Employees
11. Jan 2024
Employee figures hit all-time high in December
There were 410 more employees in December 2023 than in December 2022, an increase of 1.4%.
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The sharp dip in the graph above occurred in April 2020, shortly after Covid-19 restrictions were introduced.
Relative increase in female employees
Employee numbers increased for both sexes in the past year. In December, there were about 14,700 male and 14,000 female employees, a year-on-year increase of 0.8% for men and 2.1% for women.
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Highest growth in construction and public services
The graphs below show the employee figures and the monthly trends in the four main industrial sectors.
‘Governmental and other services’ has seen steady growth since 2014 when there were about 8,500 employees. This figure has now reached 10,700. The employee figure for this sector increased by 245 employees (2.3%) compared to December 2022.
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Employee figures in ‘Private services’ have remained relatively steady in the past two years. The year-on-year increase in December was 41 employees (0.4%).
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The growth in employee numbers in ‘construction and other manufacturing’ stagnated in 2020 and the total employee number dropped slightly. This number is now recovering, reaching an all-time high in 2023, with a year-on-year increase in December 2023 of 105 employees (2.4%).
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Employee numbers in ‘fishery and other natural resources’ tend to fluctuate more than in the other industrial sectors. In the past few years, the number has ranged between 4,100 and 4,200, though usually slightly higher each December. In December 2023, there were 4,337 employees in this sector, an increase of 19 on December 2022.
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Employee decline in fish processing continues
The table below shows employee numbers (December 2022 and December 2023) for each branch within the four main industrial sectors.
About a quarter of the branches saw an employee decline in December 2023 compared to December 2022. Of the larger branches, fish processing experienced the biggest drop in employee numbers, declining year-on-year by 6.5%.
The biggest annual employee increase among the larger branches was registered in ‘education’ (3.6%) and ‘construction’ (2.7%).
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Increase in foreign nationals continues – though at a slower pace
The proportion of foreign citizens in the Faroese labour market rose from 7% in December 2022 to 7.6% in December 2023.
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Non-Danish citizens made up 44% of the total year-on-year increase of just above 400 employees in December. This figure was 86% in December 2022.
Non-Danish employees predominantly work in fish processing, hotels and restaurants, aquaculture and household services.
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About employees
An employee is anyone aged between 16 and 74 who earns a wage that is subject to tax at source (PAYE) and resides in the Faroe Islands at the time of wage payment. A person is regarded as an employee if he or she receives a wage payment which is no lower than a day wage for an unskilled worker, regardless of whether the wage is paid by a Faroese or an overseas company.
About the trend
The trend describes the employee 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.