Norwegians’ ‘real salary’ fell by 1.2% last year

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Average wage growth fell from 2.8% in 2015, to 1.7% last year, according to the preliminary report of the Technical Reporting Committee (Teknisk Beregningsutvalg).

Inflation rose from 2.1% to 3.6% during the same period. Overall, this contributed to the average after-tax ‘real salary’ of all groups falling by 1.2% last year.

Lower payroll tax contributed to real growth slightly, namely by 0.6%, according to the committee. The Technical Reporting Committee presents key figures annually, providing analysis and a material basis for wage settlements.

The report stated that an increase in wages for industrial workers fell from 2.5% in 2015, to just 2% in 2016. Government employees wage’s fell from 2.8% to 2.4% growth during the same period. For municipal employees, during the same span of time, the drop was from 3.3% to 2.5%.

Bonus payments that increased wage growth in 2015, were most effective for employees in the financial services industry, who ended up with an increase of 2.5% last year, compared to 4.3% in 2015.

 

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today