According to IMF, measured by unemployment rates, these are the 10 best and worst job markets in developed countries in 2025. With Norway ranking 8th among the top job markets with an unemployment rate of 3.8%. While countries like Canada and U.S do not make the top 10. Does this reflect the reality of the job market and meet the expectations?
Norway ranks 8th among the best job markets in developed countries in 2025
byu/littleperfectionism inNorway
Posted by littleperfectionism
12 Comments
No I can sum up the Reddit sentiment, Norway is the worst country in the world. The workers are unproductive, expensive and can’t innovate.
Everything is better in Sweden, where wages are lower and it is easier to set up a business.
/s
At least the article acknowledges that it’s only because of oil and gas. That’s not something to be happy or proud about.
Not at all. It’s not a garden of Eden – especially if you look like a non-EU.
Seems accurate.
Also, among developed economies Norway has one of the highest employment rates (percentage of working age people who are in work). https://qery.no/oecd-employment-rate-at-record-high/
Norwegian companies are reporting labour shortages across the economy (link in Norwegian) https://www.nav.no/no/nav-og-samfunn/kunnskap/analyser-fra-nav/nyheter/bedriftsundersokelsen-2025-norske-virksomheter-mangler-39-000-personer
Of course that doesn’t mean that everyone can get the kind of job they want, for the pay they expect, and where they want to live. But there are comparatively few people who can’t get a job at all.
Based solely on unemployment rates. Not sure that’s a great way to determine “best” job markets, unless your only objective is to simply be employed.
Saved by energy and defense I guess. But the strong social security kinda masks unemployment. There are a loooooooot on welfare
Really? Because I just saw a trainee position being filled with a 10+ student with a Phd and 2 bachelor degrees. Great job market!
I’ve been unable to find a job as a Data Analyst for over a year in spite of having over 4 years of industry experience and a PhD, so, YMMV…
This is to be taken with a grain of salt.
First and foremost, the unemployment rate is currently at 4.8% and rising (April 2022 we were looking at 3.0%). Shortage of skilled workers is mostly true for healthcare (like everywhere else in the world) as well as certain blue-collar jobs, mainly related to industry (industrial mechanics, construction machine operators, and welders) and partly in the petroleum industry. If you are applying in other fields, there is *a lot* more competition.
Second, Norway has a *huge* public sector. Making the marked somewhat more difficult to compare to other states. Cities like for example Tromsø and/or Trondheim are built on public finances.
Third, the Norwegian crown lost like 30% of its value over the course of the past three years. Which makes a huge difference when comparing the salaries. In particular for skilled workers.
I will however agree, that Norway enables almost everyone to live off their salary. So it is not like in other countries where you work as a teacher during daytime and as a bartender at night. Which I personally like a lot! Plus the working conditions are generally much more family friendly.
Norway also has the highest public sector employment in Europe, I think it’s more impressive for those countries with low pulic sector employment but also low unemployment rate. Coming from someone working in public sector.
Yeah, nice try, I actually lived in Oslo and worked as a software developer last year.
Thanks, but no thanks!
As a resident of Oslo, I understand why. People work like crazy, it is very competitive and employers demand a lot.
We have good protections, and thanks to the labor movement for that. Otherwise we would be wrung completely dry by 40.