Despite political ambitions to take the whole country into use, there are signs that the relocation of government jobs has stagnated under the Støre government. Earlier in March, the government announced that it would move “at least 15” man-years in Norad and UD to Førde in line with the objective of strengthening the district. In addition, four workplaces have been moved from Trondheim to Steinkjer. In total, there will be 19 relocations since the change of government in 2021. On top of that, “about” 47 new government jobs outside Oslo have been established, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs informs news. They specify that the picture is not exhaustive as new passport offices and service centers are not included in this overview (see table at the bottom of the file). – I do not have a detailed overview of all growth in government employees in Oslo or in Oslo’s neighboring municipalities during the government period, writes Minister for Digitalization and Administration Karianne O. Tung in a written response to the Storting. Photo: William Jobling / news – This is a serious belly flop Figures from Statistics Norway (SSB) show that in Oslo and the neighboring municipalities there were 98,324 employees within the state administration in 2021. In 2023, the corresponding figure was 100,805 employees. – For a government that was partly elected because of a desire for more district-oriented policies, this must be a declaration of bankruptcy, says Tom-Christer Nilsen of the Bergen Business Council. In comparison, several hundred jobs were moved out of the “Oslo pot” while Erna Solberg and Jens Stoltenberg ruled. An overview at verkächt.no shows that the two are competing to be Norway’s champion in “forced relocation”. The winner depends on whether Ås in Akershus is considered “out of Oslo” or not. The king of migration is still the Bondevik II government, which decided to establish 849 new government jobs outside Oslo. – I urge the Center Party to use its last year in government to bring about a proper relocation. The way we got it, says Kjell Ingolf Ropstad (KrF) to news. Andrine Seppola is the head of the Youth Centre. – We demand that the government turn up the pace. So far, they have moved out for too few jobs, she says. The Ministry of Municipal Affairs has received an offer to respond to the criticism, but has so far not responded. – This is a serious belly flop. The Center Party loses credibility in district politics when they fail to move more jobs out of Oslo, says Kjell Ingolf Ropstad (KrF). Photo: Håkon Mosvold Larsen / NTB – Government jobs are important to stem the population exodus In addition to the “tempo criticism”, the government has been criticized for “Eastland arrogance” and “Oslo-centrism” after the brand new agency for export control was added to Fornebu – in competition with Bergen and Sandefjord. Last Saturday, Vestland Venstre decided that the “toothless” government must implement “a crackdown” against centralization according to the Danish model. In Denmark, the Danish Parliament has decided to move 3,900 government jobs out of Copenhagen. Quite concretely, Vestland Venstre advocates moving 5,000 government jobs out of Oslo, and “eyemarking” 1,000 of them to Vestlandet. – Government workplaces are important infrastructure to stem the population exodus, says Director of the Lotteries and Foundations Authority, Atle Hamar. The authority, which employs around 90 man-years, was established in 2001 with Førde as its headquarters. He adds: – Alternatively, labour, capital and expertise will slowly but surely gravitate towards the capital area. William Jobling / news Tobias D. Lund, municipal political spokesperson in Raudt – We are basically very positive about more decentralized government workplaces throughout the country, but it is important that such processes take place in close cooperation with the employees and the trade unions. In any case, it is very good that we are getting a turnaround where the government says when locating new government workplaces that you should first consider places other than Oslo. The student organization Axel Fjeldavli, advisor in Tankesmien Agenda – For anyone who is concerned that decentralized state enterprises can contribute to the spread of power and citizen-friendly services, the challenge is that centralization has progressed at an even higher pace over time. It is a problem that cannot be solved by simply increasing the pace of emigration from Oslo. Here, many remedies must be used at the same time. Ole Andre Rekkedal Jon Askeland, mayor of Vestland – 25 percent of the population in Norway live in 9 municipalities around the Oslofjord. This is not sustainable. Instead, we must have more people to Vestland to create value to feed the rest of the country. The state sector must be reduced, and as part of this, more must be moved out of the country, because evaluation of previous relocations shows that relocations create higher efficiency and quality than when the agencies were located in Oslo. Sondre Dalaker Marit Lofnes Mellingen, director of the District Center – Work is an important factor for immigration. This particularly applies to the youngest employees, who at the start of their career are more willing to move to get their first job experience. Both the relocation of Norec to Førde and parts of the Directorate of Agriculture to Steinkjer must be said to have been successful, in that they have managed to recruit the right expertise and fulfill their mission after the move. Jostein Brobakk, Ruralis researcher – Several claim that the competence environment was torn up with the root, and can hardly be replaced or re-established when moving out. History shows that this is wrong. Both the Norwegian Labor Inspectorate in Trondheim and the Norwegian Aviation Authority in Bodø – cities which in this context represent the district – work very well. So this should actually be a “simple” symbolic victory for the government. Joakim Halvorsen / NTB Andrine Seppola, leader of the Senterungdommen – The government has so far moved too few workplaces, and if new government workplaces are established, they must be located outside Oslo. It is good that the government is relocating jobs to great places like Førde, because this is about creating attractive local communities so that more young people move out of the big cities and establish themselves in the countryside. Simen Sundfjord Otterlei / news Tom-Christer Nilsen, Bergen business council – Relocation of government workplaces is an important regional policy measure. It is crucial both to facilitate skilled workplaces throughout the country, and to ensure that the state enterprise gets a perspective from the whole country. Vegar Erstad / news Bjørn Lødemel, Sogn og Fjordane Business Council – We are very happy that the last governments have had a conscious policy on the relocation of government jobs. These jobs are an important supplement to the business world. A varied working life and access to relevant jobs are also important for the rural economy. – Relocation has major consequences for people’s jobs Relocation of government workplaces has had broad political support since the 1960s, but gained momentum when Victor Norman (H) was Minister of Labor and Administration in 2003. In addition to securing national interests by spreading professional environment around the whole country, the initiative is motivated by the idea that government enterprises outside the capital can work more independently (and undisturbed) by the political environment in Oslo. Erna Solberg and Jens Stoltenberg competed to move the most jobs out into the districts. Under the new government, the pace has slowed. Photo: Larsen, Håkon Mosvold / NTB scanpix – Nor should we ignore the fact that it is easier to recruit good people in regional centers outside Oslo, says Jan Erik Grindheim, who is an adviser at the liberal think tank Civita. He refers to the practice of spreading central educational institutions around the country – such as Norges handelshøgskole (NHH) and NTNU. – I think this has promoted a strong identity among the students as independent from the central Oslo environment. This is perhaps how we can also think about the relocation of state enterprises from Oslo? When the government decided to move 15 Norad man-years to Førde earlier this month, several trade unions raised eyebrows. On the same basis, the clearest dissenting voices come from the left in Norwegian politics. – Relocation of government workplaces often has major consequences for people’s jobs, says Axel Fjeldavli, who is an adviser at Tankesmien Agenda. He adds: – Seen from that perspective, it is a sign of health that the pace is not sky-high.
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Fewer jobs are moved to the districts – news Vestland
