Norwegian Labour Market
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Working Time

Norway has a higher proportion of part-time employment compared to many other European countries. According to Eurostat data, in 2023, the proportion of employed individuals working part-time in Norway was about 6 percentage points higher than the average for the EU27 member states, standing at 25%.

For women, the share is significantly higher than for men, with 35% of women working part-time in Norway compared to 17% of men.

Total

Men

Women

One reason for the high part-time share is that many young Norwegians engage in both part-time work and education simultaneously.

Eurostat data from 2022 illustrates that the proportion of young people in Norway (25 %) simultaneously pursuing both education and employment is more than twice the EU average (11 %).

One of the shortest working weeks in Europe

The average working week in Norway is shorter than in most other European countries. According to Eurostat, the average weekly work hours per employee in Norway is 33 hours, compared to 36 hours in the EU.

It’s important to note that this data includes both full-time and part-time workers, which means that the high proportion of part-time employment in Norway contributes to the lower average weekly work hours.

When considering only full-time employees (the second map below), the differences between Norway and the EU become much smaller.

Low annual working hours

Norway is amongst the countries with the lowest annual working hours per employee. As in many other countries, the average annual hours of work have been significantly reduced since the 1970s, in large part due to working-hour reforms such as increased holidays and shortening of the working week.

Since 2000 there have been only minor changes in annual working hours, however, data from Eurostat shows a reduction in working hours from 2019 to 2020 due to the negative impact of the pandemic on labour markets. This is especially pronouced when looking at the EU and OECD-average, with Norway less affected.

About the data

Data on working hours are from Eurostat, while data on annual working hours are from the OECD.

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