After a sharp drop in the number of foreign commuters through the pandemic, the number increased in 2022.
In the first quarter of 2023, according to the Norwegian Statistical Office, the number of foreign commuters is slightly higher than before the pandemic, in 2019. The number of foreign workers who come to Norway to work has grown dynamically over the last 15 years, from around 121 in 000 to 2007 in 169, an increase of around 000 percent over the period.
In 2020 and 2021, measures introduced due to the COVID-19 pandemic made crossing the Norwegian border more difficult, resulting in a sharp decline in the number of foreign commuters by more than 20 percent compared to 2019. This decline was greater in comparison do employed persons residing in Norway. At the same time, the percentage of foreign commuters settling in Norway increased in 2021 and 2022.
Over the course of 2022, the employment of foreign commuters has returned, but is still 8 percent lower than before the pandemic. However, looking at the data for the first quarters of 2023, the level is slightly higher than in the same quarter of 2019.
In Q2022 92, over 000 foreigners worked in Norway. This is a small part of the total number of employees, just over 3 percent. The number of international commuters increased from almost 80 in the fourth quarter of 000 to 2016 in the same quarter of 95.
Big difference between annual and quarterly values
The number of foreign commuters who worked in Norway at one time or another during the year amounted to more than 169 in 000. This is much more than the quarterly statistics, which in practice include employees in one reference week in quarter. To also include people who commute to Norway for a shorter period of time, such as seasonal workers, annual figures are also published from 2022, where the whole year is used as a reference period. The large difference between annual and quarterly figures indicates that many people work fewer hours during the year.
The strongest growth in the hospitality industry
Construction and business services are the industries with the highest number of people commuting from abroad. The largest industry in the commercial provision of services is labor brokering and employment, which means that work is performed in a variety of industries. This is followed by industry and activities related to accommodation and catering. Those four in total industries accounted for 2/3 of foreign commuters In Norway. Accommodation and catering is also the industry that recorded the strongest growth in 2021-2022.
When checking the link to Norwegian working life, Statistics Norway analyzes whether a person is working in Norway also in the following year and their status as a foreigner or resident. Changing your status to residency means a stronger connection to Norway than continuing to work as a foreign commuter.
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People who have settled in Norway
Of the 2015 cross-border commuters in 170, 000 percent were still commuting in 53 and 2016 percent settled in Norway. Less than 10 percent changed to resident status without employment as an employed person, and more than 3 percent were not found again the following year as commuters or residents.
People who have settled in Norway but are not employed may be registered as unemployed, self-employed or receiving various types of benefits. There is also the possibility that some people changed their status to residency and then emigrated without notifying the authorities.
We have less information on people who cannot be re-identified and who are neither foreign commuters nor next-year residents. Most are likely to leave the country, but some may be self-employed or receive various benefits without being registered as residents.
The proportion of international commuters in subsequent years is approximately 53 to 59 percent in 2016-2022. The percentage of people who changed their status to residency and salaried worker is stable at around 10 percent from 2016 to 2020, but with a slightly higher percentage in 2021 and 2022, at 13 and 15 percent respectively.
Does a change of resident status also entail a change of profession?
Among commuters from abroad, two sectors dominate: construction and construction activities and business services. Among the 2021 international commuters who became resident in 2022, most work in the same industry. People working in the construction industry have the largest share in the same industry, while the business services industry is characterized by the greatest mobility to other industries. Since the latter mainly involves the hiring of labour, it can be assumed that mobility reflects a change of employer rather than a change in the industry in which they actually work, for example by getting a permanent job in the industry in which they are employed.
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Source: Statistics Norway
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