In what has become a yearly tradition, the Norwegian Business Association (NHO) organizes a national championship among Norwegian municipalities and regions, looking at their financial performance and their framework conditions for businesses.
Skills and finance in Sola
Rogaland scores highest of all regions when it comes to skills and municipal finance and takes second place in the categories business and labour market.
In addition to the regional ranking, municipalities are also being ranked according to these measures.
Among the 356 Norwegian municipalities, the region of Rogaland has six municipalities among the top 20, with the Rogaland municipality of Sola ranking number one.
Sola has been ranked among the top for several consecutive years, taking first place also in 2022.
As for the regions as a whole, Sola scores high on skills and labour market indicators – with an unemployment rate of only 1.5%.
When asked what it typically takes to do well in the municipal championship of NHO, chief economist Øystein Dørum said the following after last year’s scores had been revealed:
─ The municipalities that are ranked the highest are typically bigger urban or population-dense municipalities, education and technology centra or municipalities with a substantial activity within the aqua culture and energy sectors, as well as tourism-oriented municipalities.
It’s the economy, stupid
But its not only businesses that thrive in the region of Rogaland. They also have the happiest inhabitants, according to a recent study done by Respons Analyse, an analytics agency.
─ It’s not so easy to say exactly why that is. But often, we see that if many people in a region have high education, a stable economy and few health-related issues, the happiness level there is high, says Ragnhild Bang Nes, researcher at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health to NRK.
Especially among people in the 65+ age group, the level of happiness seems to be high.
The Stavanger Region has a strong reputation in active involvement of the elderly, and for emphasizing policies promoting active and healthy ageing.