Jobs in Demand in Norway 2026: Which Jobs Are Hardest to Fill, and Who Can Take Them?

Norway's labour market is still short of people in health care, industry and construction. But a shortage of workers in an occupation is not the same as a route into Norway for anyone with that occupation. Permits, authorisations and qualification checks decide who can actually fill the gap.

What Nav's 2026 survey found

The figures come from Nav's annual business survey, published on 20 May 2026. Nav asked 13,119 public and private businesses between late January and mid-March 2026 about recruitment problems and expected hiring.

• 18% of businesses had tried to recruit in the previous three months without success. Nearly 11% hired no one at all, and nearly 8% hired someone with lower qualifications than they wanted.
• Nav's estimate of the national shortage is about 34,000 people.
• The largest groups are health, care and nursing (about 9,200, which is 1,700 fewer than last year), industry (about 5,750) and construction (about 4,750).
• The biggest single occupations are health care workers (3,650), nurses (1,850), other health occupations (1,350), carpenters (1,150) and electricians (1,110). In industry, industrial mechanics, power fitters and welders are the largest gaps.
• By county, the shortage is largest in Vestland (about 6,300), Rogaland (about 3,750) and Nordland (about 2,950). Nav's Nordland office reports that Nordland has the tightest labour market relative to its size.

How to read these numbers

The figures are estimates built from employers' answers. They are not a count of open jobs, and they are not a list of positions waiting for foreign applicants.

• Nav changed to a new industry classification (SN2025) this year, so industry-level figures cannot be compared with earlier years.
• The nurse picture is mixed. According to Sykepleien's reading of the Nav figures, the shortage of nurses and specialist nurses fell by 800 to about 2,300, while the shortage of health care workers rose to 3,650 from 3,000 the year before. The Norwegian Nurses Organisation argues the survey may understate the problem because many employers have stopped advertising nurse positions, and Fagforbundet notes that only 28% of advertised health care jobs are full-time.
• Nav points out that the health shortage is far larger than the number of unemployed people with a health background, which is part of why employers look further afield.

A shortage is not a work permit

For citizens of countries outside the EU/EEA, the main route into skilled work is the skilled worker residence permit, and UDI sets conditions that a shortage does not change:

• You need a concrete job offer from one specific Norwegian employer. UDI says you must normally already have received a job offer (self-employment has separate rules).
• You need qualifications as a skilled worker: at least three years of vocational training at upper secondary level with a Norwegian equivalent, or a completed university or university-college degree. Documented long experience can count in special cases, generally six years or more, but UDI notes that approval is hard to get and many applications are rejected.
• The job must require those qualifications and should normally be full-time (UDI accepts at least 80%).
• Pay and conditions must not be poorer than is normal in Norway.

Notice that carpenter is on the shortage list. It is also one of the vocational occupations (together with chef, car mechanic, painter, bricklayer and hairdresser) where UDI checks documents more closely when qualifications were issued in Bangladesh, China, India, Iran, Kosovo, Nepal, Pakistan, Türkiye or Vietnam, and where processing can take longer. A national shortage and an easy permit are two different things.

What it means for the biggest shortage groups

Nurses and other health personnel

Health personnel are in a regulated profession. You need Norwegian authorisation from the Directorate of Health (Helsedirektoratet) before you can work in the role. For a general nurse educated outside the EU/EEA, the application is made through Altinn with a processing fee of NOK 1,665. Documents include your diploma, transcript and passport, and possibly curriculum, licence and employment certificates. Helsedirektoratet states a processing time of 23 months for applicants educated outside the EU/EEA, and you may receive a decision that lists additional requirements you must complete. If your education is below bachelor level, Helsedirektoratet recommends applying as a health care worker instead.

Carpenters, electricians, welders and mechanics

These are skilled-trade shortages, so the vocational-qualification rules above apply. Check early whether your trade is regulated and whether your foreign education will be recognised; HK-dir handles recognition of foreign education. Most employers will also expect you to be able to document your training and experience in detail.

If you are an EU/EEA citizen

Different rules apply. UDI says EU/EEA citizens may stay in Norway for up to six months to look for work, and must register with the police as a jobseeker no later than three months after arrival. The shortage is a real advantage for you, but recognition and authorisation requirements for regulated professions still apply.

Key takeaways

• Norway's shortage is concentrated in health care, industry and construction, and is largest in Vestland, Rogaland and Nordland.
• The 34,000 figure is an estimate of what employers could not fill, not a count of vacancies.
• Non-EU/EEA citizens still need a concrete job offer, matching qualifications and, in regulated professions, Norwegian authorisation.
• Some shortage trades face closer document checks depending on where your qualifications were issued.
• EU/EEA citizens have a much simpler route, but still need the right qualifications and authorisations.

Sources

• Bedriftsundersøkelsen 2026: Norske virksomheter mangler 34 000 personer (Nav, 20 May 2026): national figures, caveats.
• Alvorlige rekrutteringsproblemer i Nordland (Nav, 20 May 2026, updated 30 July 2026): Nordland figures.
• Nye Nav-tall: Sykepleiermangelen kraftig redusert (Sykepleien, May 2026): nurse and health care worker figures, union comments.
• Skilled workers (UDI): permit requirements.
• Can EU/EEA citizens come to Norway and apply for work? (UDI): six months, police registration.
• Authorisation as a general nurse, educated outside the EU/EEA (Helsedirektoratet): documents and fee.

Related guides: Skilled Worker Residence Permit · Work and Residence Permits: An Overview · Working in Norway without a job offer