89.5 thousand vacancies in Norway. Where are companies looking for employees?

Statistics Norway (SSB) published the data on 12 November. After seasonal adjustment, the number of vacancies was 89,500, accounting for 2.8% of all positions. Compared with the second quarter, this represented an increase of 2,500 vacancies and 0.1 percentage points, respectively. Construction gained 800 vacant positions, trade and vehicle repair gained 500, and manufacturing gained 300. Transport and storage recorded a decrease of 200. Source: SSB. Seasonally adjusted data; the table includes selected industries, not the entire labour market. Read also: Poland is growing while Norway is losing workers. A Norwegian newspaper describes a major change.

The survey describes the situation at a specific point during the quarter. It does not mean that 89.5 thousand job advertisements are currently waiting for candidates, nor that there are that many jobs available without knowledge of Norwegian. Job requirements, locations and working hours also vary. Therefore, nationwide growth alone does not answer whether it will be easier for you to find work in your city. Treat it as a starting point for your search. For example, someone with construction experience can compare advertisements from several regions instead of basing a relocation decision solely on a headline about a higher number of vacancies. Read also: Looking for work in Oslo? This was the situation in construction in summer 2026.

NAV points to several ways of looking for employment: the Arbeidsplassen portal, automatic job searches, professional contacts and job fairs. Choose an industry, location and positions that match your experience, and check new advertisements regularly. Before sending your documents, compare language requirements, qualifications, working hours and the start date. Keeping a simple table of company, position, application deadline and requirements will make it easier to see where you actually have the most suitable offers. NAV recommends tailoring your application to the specific advertisement. Briefly show the experience that is relevant to the role and support it with examples. State when you can start, provide up-to-date contact details, and check your messages after submitting your application. Tailoring your application well to one offer makes more sense than sending the same generic text everywhere.