Obtaining data from the wage statistics

To order data on wages, you need to complete the variable list for wages (Excel, in Norwegian) and select the variables you want. You then need to include the list with the application you send to Statistics Norway to obtain data.

About the wage statistics

The data on wages that can be obtained from Statistics Norway is compiled from the data basis of the published wage statistics from 1997. In the public sector, the statistics are based on a full count from register data. Otherwise, sample counts are used in the private sector from 1997 to 2014. From 2015, the data for the statistics is based on a full count and information from a-ordningen.

In the wage statistics, the analysis unit is job per business and not person as in the employment statistics, which is one of the reasons why the wage statistics are not the same as employment statistics. An employee may have more than one job in more than one business, while jobs within the same business are aggregated into one. The number of jobs will thus exceed the number of individuals in the population.

The wage statistics also provide information in addition to income. Wages are the payment for work performed in a job, while income is a broader term that includes, among other things, income from self-employment, capital income and other transfers.

Data on wages includes a number of variables that are linked and revised in order to provide a detailed description of wages in different industries, different locations in the country and by occupation, gender and education:

• Data is at the individual level and encompasses wage components, with links to a local business and legal entity. Characteristics of the local business are linked from the Business and Enterprise Register.
• For the period 1997 to 2014, data on the private sector is based on separate samples of enterprises for each year and within each industry. The count date is 1 September or 1 October, depending on the industry.
• In the same period, the data basis for the public sector is retrieved from register information from the State Central Register of Government Employees (SST) for central government employees and the Personnel Administration Information System (PAI) for municipal employees (including the school system from 2004). Prior to 2004, employees in the school system were reported in the Central Register of Government Employees in the School System (STS).
• As from 2015, the data basis for the statistics is based on information reported to ‘a-ordningen’. Statistics Norway receives data monthly from the Tax Administration Shared Services Agency (Etatens fellesforvaltning (EFF), an administrative unit in the Tax Administration, which administers the a-ordningen on behalf of the three owner agencies; the Tax Administration, NAV and Statistics Norway.

More information on employment and wages from 2015

From 2015, the wage statistics are based on a new data basis for employees, a-ordningen. Much of the information on employment and wages for employees from a-ordningen that can be obtained from Statistics Norway is found in a variable list on the home page for employment and wages.

Definition of documentation and variables

The variable list includes links to definitions of variables and code lists for the variables that are relevant. Documentation beyond this, such as error sources and the statistical basis, can be found in About the statistics and in separate documentation for the period 1997 to 2014 compiled for use in this data collection for research.

Data within other areas

You can also obtain various data sets with variables within other areas. Remember here to include all of the completed variable lists as an attachment to the application to obtain data.