Wage expenditure statistics include all wages paid by Faroese companies through the pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) tax system.

Wage definitions:

• 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. Income from self-employment (B-income), remunerations, allowances from the unemployment insurance scheme and other payments such as grants and post-employment benefits are not included.
• All wage expenditures meeting the above requirements will be counted in regardless of the employee’s nationality.

Other definitions:

• Employee’s region refers to the employee’s place of residence.
• Seasonally adjusted figures are adjusted for seasonal patterns such as recurring seasonal activity patterns. Seasonal adjustment may not be a reliable method in periods with exceptional seasonal fluctuations where monthly figures deviate too much from the regular calendar.
• Trend describes the wage expenditure trend by adjusting for seasonal effects and error components in the figures.

Main industrial sectors

The main industrial sectors are grouped according to the type of production activity. Statistics Faroe Islands uses the international NACE sector classification system with certain adaptations to accommodate specific Faroese production practices.

Fishery and other natural resources sector includes: agriculture, fishing, aquaculture, extraction of raw materials, fish processing and similar activities not elsewhere indicated.

Construction and other manufacturing sector includes: shipyards/machine shops, other manufacturing, construction, and energy and water supply.

Private services sector includes: trade and repair, hotels and restaurants, sea transport, other transport, postal and communications services, finance and insurance, business services. household services, organisations, culture, etc.

Governmental and other services include: public administration and services, central administration, municipalities, government institutions and the Ministries of Education and Health.