Statistics Norway

 Division for Structural business statistics

Statistics Norway, 2225 Kongsvinger, Norway.

The background of the index Gross wages and salaries is the need for more timeliness in the measurement of changes in Gross wages and salaries. The purpose is therefore to show changes in Gross wages and salaries through the year.

The index was published for the first time for the third quarter of 2004, with back indices to the first quarter of 1998.

The statistics is based on data from a-meldingen. At the web-page www.skatteetaten.no there are more information about the "a-meldingen".

The Indices cover sectors industry, construction, retail trade and services, which are economic activities according to https://www.ssb.no/en/klass/klassifikasjoner/6 (in accordance to NACE Rev. 2).

The activities covered are industry, construction, retail trade and services (in accordance to NACE Rev. 2). The statistics covers enterprises in private sector

The index Gross wages and salaries measures changes in total Gross wages and salaries. Total Gross wages and salaries are the sum of wages and salaries, remuneration and other cash payments like paid annual leave, sickness pay, representation allowances. 

Reporting unit: Enterprise.

Observation unit(s): Local kind of activity unit.

The indices cover changes in wages and salaries for employees in sectors industry, construction, retail trade and services, in accordance with the new version of Norwegian industry classification (SIC2007).

There are about 300 000 number of persons employed in the sections covered.

Inludes activities in Norway. Activities outside of Norway are not included in the data.

The index Gross wages and salaries was produced for the first time with figures for the third quarter of 2004 and is comparable back to 1998 for all the economic activities covered.

Base year: 2021=100

Index.

Quarter. 

Legal basis: 

• Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 of the European Parliament and of the Council on European business statistics, repealing 10 legal acts in the field of business statistics (EBS-Regulation)
• Commission Implementing Regulation 2020/1197 laying down technical specifications and arrangements pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 of the European Parliament and of the Council on European business statistics repealing 10 legal acts in the field of business statistic (General Implementing Act) 
• The Statistics Act of June 21, 2019 number 32, replacing Statistics Act of 16 June 1989, No.54.

Data sent to Eurostat

Information about how the statistics are produced is given as "About the statistics" at the website (http://www.ssb.no/arblonn_en and http://www.ssb.no/aki_en/). Also see information about Privacy.

There are no confidential data on the aggregated level.

The publication schedule is pre-released in Statistics Norway's Advance Release Calendar.

 See http://www.ssb.no/en/kalender

Statistics Norway releases statistics at its website, www.ssb.no. The statistics are released at 08.00 in Norwegian and English. No other governmental or non-governmental bodies have prior access to data before its release. Data are sent to Eurostat simultaneously with the national release via SDMX. The statistics are used in Statistics Norway's national accounts and in more general monitoring of the economy. The wage indices are furthermore used by business and industry to adjust contracts and in wage negotiations. Other major users or applications are employee and employer organisations and the media. The indices are furthermore used in the building cost index, lorry cost index and consumer price index at Statistics Norway.

Quarterly.

 At www.ssb.no the statistics are published within 60 days after the end of each quarter. At the day of national publication the statistics are sent to Eurostat.

The statistics are published electronically at Statistics Norway's website at http://www.ssb.no/en/aki, and in StatBank (http://www.ssb.no/en/statistikkbanken - “Labour market and earnings” – “Labour costs” – “Index of labour costs”). 

The Statistics on Labour Cost Index are released at 08.00 am on the day given in the statistics calendar: http://www.ssb.no/en/kalender. 

The indices are sent to Eurostat no later than one week after the LCI is published nationally.

On web at https://www.ssb.no/en/arbeid-og-lonn/statistikker/aki

Statbank: https://www.ssb.no/en/statbank/list/aki

Not available.

API: Ready-made datasets

Metadata is found at “About the statistics” at http://www.ssb.no/en/aki. 

Labour Cost Index Eurostat

The index Gross wages and salaries is a Laspeyres index with fixed weights. The index Gross wages and salaries is constructed as a sum of sub-indices for cost components constituting total Gross wages and salaries. Changes in Gross wages and salaries are estimated and then weighted together to obtain an index Gross wages and salaries.

Quality control and editing of the statistics takes place in several stages, with most of the operations automatic both with respect to the actual control and consequent correction. When the reported data are received essential variables are controlled. Quality control of the data continues before and after registration.

The quarterly Index Gross wages and salaries is primarily used by the Technical Reporting Committee on Income Settlement, research institutes, employees and employer organizations, Eurostat, the media, business and industry.

The index Gross wages and salaries is compiled every quarter, and is published no later than 60 days after the end of each quarter.

The feedback from main users indicates satisfaction. The index Gross wages and salaries is in use by many enterprises, mainly for contract price adjustments

Statistics Norway has delivered the incices for all relevant NACE sections for the years 1998-2023.

The index is delivered both unadjusted and seasonally adjusted. This means that changes in labour costs per hour and variations in the number of working hours or days between the quarters is shown both where there have and do not have affect the index in the present quarter.

The sources the data, A-ordningen, is classified according to the former standard for industrial classification. For some sections the changes in the classification have been insignificant and the variables have been calculated directly according to NACE 2007. 

The statistics is based on data from a-meldingen. At the web-page www.skatteetaten.no there are more information about the a-meldingen.

Hours paid are not given in the data source. There is some uncertainty in these calculations.

The statistics is based on administrative data from a-meldingen, which covers the whole population. The observations can be discarded due to missing variables and/or incorrect values for the variables.                

The statistics is based on administrative data from a-meldingen. The observations can be discarded due to missing information and/or incorrect values for the variables.     

The index is published no longer than 60 days after the end of the reference quarter.

All releases are published according to the announced dates: https://www.ssb.no/en/kalender

The statistics are produced according to Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 of the European Parliament and of the Council on European business statistics, repealing 10 legal acts in the field of business statistics (EBS-Regulation) and Commission Implementing Regulation 2020/1197 laying down technical specifications and arrangements pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 of the European Parliament and of the Council on European business statistics repealing 10 legal acts in the field of business statistic (General Implementing Act).

The statistics are comparable back to first quarter 1998.

Other statistics that could be used to measure direct labour costs include the wage index and the wage-cost statistics from the National Accounts. There are some significant differences between the direct LCI and these statistics. The wage index does not include hours and overtime pay and it measures the development of wages per month. The LCI measures cost per hour, and it includes payments for overtime. The statistics from the National Accounts covers aggregate wage costs and annual changes in average yearly salaries.

Comparability over NACE sections

There are coherense between Nace divisions. 

The labour cost statistics make use of data from «A-ordningen». A-ordningen is a collaborative between The Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV), Statistics Norway and the Norwegian Tax Administration.

The aim of a-ordningen is to coordinate the authorities' requirements concerning the reporting of information on employees' income and employment etc. in order for the enforcement of a-ordningen to be as smooth as possible.

From 1st January 2015, the way in which employers and others with a reporting obligation declare employment- and income information to the Norwegian authorities will change. The same information will no longer need to be submitted several times to several national agencies.

The new way of reporting mandatory information is useful to the Norwegian society in general, as the monthly a-melding report provides a more correct foundation for NAV benefits, tax returns and social statistics. A-ordningen is one of the first steps on the road to modernisation and reforms.

Hence, there are no estimates on cost and burden for the enterprises concerning the labour cost statistics on its own.

The most significant revision of the LCI was made after the publication of the Labour Cost Surveys (LCS) for 2012, 2016 and 2020. This survey gives an overview over the costs of having an employee. The LCI is supposed to measure the quarterly growth in the same costs. If the four year growth in the LCI does not match the growth between the former and the current LCS, it has to be revised. By adjusting the growth for each quarter in the LCI by the same factor we can keep the quarterly variations and at the same time have the LCI reflect the development between the Labour Cost Surveys.

In addition to the adjustment caused by the LCS, there have been some revisions in connection with the new standard of industrial classification and some minor corrections caused by delayed updating of our regular source data. Reports on overtime and overtime hours have been of fluctuating quality, and data for part-time workers have also shown variation that often seems unreasonable.

There was no revision in the LCI in 2021-2023.

There are no scheduled revisions. However if the results of the Labour Cost Survey (LCS), which is produced every fourth year (most recent for the year 2020), measure growth 2016-2020 that do not match the growth in the same period of the indices the index for 2021-2023 will be revised. From experience there is expected to be none or minor revisions.

 The population covers all the establishments in private sector in Statistics Norway's Central Register of Establishments and Enterprises, all sectors industry, construction, retail trade and services.

Quarterly.

Data from register

The index Gross wages and salaries has no data survey of its own.

The indices are checked against historical series and are compared with the published statistics from other data sources.

The index Gross wages and salaries is carried out within the frame work set by the data sources.

The index Gross wages and salaries is required in unadjusted and seasjonal adjusted series

Not available