Industry, commerce and labour market

Industry and commerce

Norwegians have traditionally been employed in agriculture and fishing - in the coastal areas a combination of these two occupations has been common. The fishing industry (both traditional fishing and aquaculture) still plays an important role in the country's economy and export of seafood is the second most important export commodity (after oil).

Norway has been a major league player in shipping for 150 years. The country still has one of the largest merchant shipping fleets in the world, and also has a large and well-reputated shipping industry at shore.

In the 1970's Norway started production of oil and gas in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. Norway at present holds the position of the world's second largest exporter of oil after Saudi Arabia and is expected to maintain this high level of production for several years to come.

Norway's mountanious landscape with many waterfalls gave inspiration to engineers already in the late 18th century. Several waterfalls have been developed into hydroelectricity plants which provide cheap power to power-intensive industry e.g. aluminum plants.