Wage expenditures
13. Jan 2021
Wage expenditures increased by 2.1% in 2020
The Covid-19 pandemic appears to have affected wage expenditures in 2020.
The annual figures for 2020 show that the wage expenditure growth has stagnated.
[px-graph-1]
The graph below shows wage expenditures for both sexes. In 2020, 62.5% of wages were paid out to males and 37.5% to females. This distribution between the sexes is virtually unchanged from 2019.
[px-graph-2]
The graph below shows wage expenditures in the four main industrial sectors. 64% of the total wages were paid in the private and public service sectors, 19.2% in the ‘fishery and other natural resources’ sector and 16.7% in the ‘construction and other manufacturing’ sector.
The ‘governmental and other services’ sector saw a 4.7% wage expenditure growth in 2020. In the previous two years, this growth was 5%. The ‘private services’ sector had no wage expenditure growth in 2020, having had a 5% growth in the previous two years. The ‘construction and other manufacturing’ sector saw a 5.4% increase in 2020, compared to a 12-15% growth in the previous three years. Wage expenditures in the ‘fishery and other natural resources’ sector decreased by 1.8% in 2020. The ‘fishery and other natural resources’ sector has seen more fluctuations in wage expenditures than the other three main industrial sectors. In 2019, there was a year-on-year growth of 8.6%, while there was a year-on-year decrease of 0.2% in 2018.
[px-graph-3]
About wage expenditures
Wage expenditures are subject to tax at source and are paid by companies based in the Faroe Islands. The statistics only cover wages for work done. Other payments and expenditures such as grants and post-employment benefits are not included.
About the trend
About the main industrial sectors
The ‘construction and other manufacturing’ sector includes: shipyards/machine shops, other manufacturing, construction, and energy and water supply.
The ‘private services’ sector includes: trade and repair, hotels and restaurants, sea transport, other transport, postal services and communications, finance and insurance, business services. household services, organisations, culture, etc.
‘Governmental and other services’ include: public administration and services (central administration, municipalities, education, health and social work), government institutions and the Ministries of Education and Health.