Weaker income growth among Norwegian households

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Norwegian households generally had a weak growth in income from 2014 to 2015. While some households experienced a rise in household income, others experienced a decline in income. Even in the two previous years households experienced a slow income growth.

Median income after tax for all households, where student households are excluded, was NOK 491 100 in 2015, an increase of NOK 2 200, or 0.4 per cent, measured in fixed prices. Several household types experienced a decline in income during 2015. These groups include persons living alone, couples without children, where the oldest person was under the age of 45, couples with young children and single parent households. 2014 was also a year with a weak increase in income – one per cent for all types of households.

Reduced income from work

Average household income after tax saw a modest growth, 2.5 per cent for all households. The faster growth of average household income compared to median household income should be seen in light of the steep increase of share dividends received. Share dividends are mainly received by the households at the top of the income distribution. Several groups of households experienced a reduction in average income from work in 2015. This applies especially to young households.

Wealth and debt continue to rise

The estimated gross wealth of Norwegian households amounted to NOK 8 435 billion in 2015, which is a nominal increase of 9.1 per cent from the previous year. Privately owned dwellings is the most important wealth component for most households, and in 2015 the estimated market value amounted to a total of NOK 5 629 billion, an increase of 8.7 per cent compared to 2014. The estimated market value of secondary dwellings constituted NOK 583 billion of this total. The share of households that own a primary dwelling increased from 67.6 per cent in 2014 to 68.5 per cent in 2015, while the share that owns a secondary dwelling remained unchanged at 10.4 per cent. The debt of Norwegian households also increased, from NOK 2 819 billion in 2014 to NOK 2 985 billion in 2015, a nominal growth of 5.9 per cent. The households’ estimated net wealth, i. e. the sum of taxable gross financial capital and estimated real capital minus debt, was NOK 5 449 billion in 2015, a nominal increase of 11 per cent from the previous year.