What is the median hourly pay in Denmark?

It varies a lot between occupation groups. Managers is highest at DKK 580.20 per hour, and Elementary occupations is lowest at DKK 272.46 per hour. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table LONS20, 2025.

Which occupation group is growing most?

Professionals has the largest relative change among the occupation groups, from 575,897 people in 2020 to 673,057 in 2025. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table LONS20, 2020. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table LONS20, 2025.

How many people are employed in the Capital Region?

1,145,137 people were employed at the end of November in 2024. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table RAS301, 2024.

How has unemployment developed?

For the whole country there were 87,761.6 unemployed in 2025M08 and 93,916.6 in 2026M08. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table AUS08, 2025M08. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table AUS08, 2026M08.

Can I use the figures to judge my own pay?

No, the median per hour is a midpoint in a distribution, not a salary band. For your own situation read salary negotiation, but the median for Managers is DKK 580.20 per hour in 2025. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table LONS20, 2025.

The Danish job market in numbers: pay, employment and unemployment

Updated October 13, 2026

This report gathers a snapshot of the Danish labour market from Danmarks Statistik's StatBank. It covers median pay per hour by occupation group, the number of fulltime employees behind the earnings statistics, employment by region and seasonally adjusted unemployment month by month.

Every figure is an extract with its own period and its own citation, so each statement carries a Source line. The periods are not the same across the report: pay runs from 2020 to 2025, employment at the end of November from 2019 to 2024, and unemployment from 2025M08 to 2026M08.

The report states what the numbers show and what they do not. The limits are listed at the end, so you can judge how far to use the figures in your own job search.

Pay by occupation group

The earnings statistics report median pay per hour worked for employees, split into ten occupation groups. The figures below are the newest release, 2025, and each line is cited, because the amount belongs to a particular version of the statistics. Amounts are in Danish kroner per hour worked.

Managers: DKK 580.20 per hour. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table LONS20, 2025.
Professionals: DKK 426.90 per hour. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table LONS20, 2025.
Technicians and associate professionals: DKK 385.26 per hour. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table LONS20, 2025.
Craft and related trades workers: DKK 334.19 per hour. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table LONS20, 2025.
Armed forces occupations: DKK 332.61 per hour. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table LONS20, 2025.
Clerical support workers: DKK 325.92 per hour. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table LONS20, 2025.
Plant and machine operators, and assemblers: DKK 310.02 per hour. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table LONS20, 2025.
Skilled agricultural, forestry and fishery workers: DKK 290.06 per hour. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table LONS20, 2025.
Service and sales workers: DKK 277.90 per hour. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table LONS20, 2025.
Elementary occupations: DKK 272.46 per hour. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table LONS20, 2025.

Craft and related trades workers: +21.6 % from 2020 to 2025.
Professionals: +20.0 % from 2020 to 2025.
Managers: +19.6 % from 2020 to 2025.
Plant and machine operators, and assemblers: +19.3 % from 2020 to 2025.
Elementary occupations: +19.1 % from 2020 to 2025.
Skilled agricultural, forestry and fishery workers: +18.7 % from 2020 to 2025.
Clerical support workers: +18.5 % from 2020 to 2025.
Technicians and associate professionals: +18.2 % from 2020 to 2025.
Service and sales workers: +16.0 % from 2020 to 2025.
Armed forces occupations: +15.2 % from 2020 to 2025.

Which groups grow and shrink

The number of fulltime employees in the earnings statistics shows how many people stand behind the pay figures in each occupation group. We compare the oldest release, 2020, with the newest, 2025, and state the change in per cent. The relative change is sorted from largest to smallest, so groups on a small base can rank high.

Professionals: 575,897 people in 2020 and 673,057 in 2025, a rise of 16.9 %. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table LONS20, 2020. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table LONS20, 2025.
Elementary occupations: 132,244 people in 2020 and 152,550 in 2025, a rise of 15.4 %. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table LONS20, 2020. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table LONS20, 2025.
Managers: 83,274 people in 2020 and 96,005 in 2025, a rise of 15.3 %. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table LONS20, 2020. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table LONS20, 2025.
Technicians and associate professionals: 208,829 people in 2020 and 235,508 in 2025, a rise of 12.8 %. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table LONS20, 2020. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table LONS20, 2025.
Clerical support workers: 154,172 people in 2020 and 169,930 in 2025, a rise of 10.2 %. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table LONS20, 2020. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table LONS20, 2025.
Service and sales workers: 268,471 people in 2020 and 294,903 in 2025, a rise of 9.8 %. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table LONS20, 2020. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table LONS20, 2025.
Craft and related trades workers: 131,180 people in 2020 and 141,770 in 2025, a rise of 8.1 %. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table LONS20, 2020. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table LONS20, 2025.
Armed forces occupations: 15,354 people in 2020 and 16,461 in 2025, a rise of 7.2 %. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table LONS20, 2020. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table LONS20, 2025.
Skilled agricultural, forestry and fishery workers: 4,661 people in 2020 and 4,946 in 2025, a rise of 6.1 %. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table LONS20, 2020. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table LONS20, 2025.
Plant and machine operators, and assemblers: 91,307 people in 2020 and 90,988 in 2025, a fall of 0.3 %. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table LONS20, 2020. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table LONS20, 2025.

Employment by region

RAS301 counts employed persons at the end of November. The figures cover the whole country and the five regions, and we show both the oldest and the newest release in the dataset. Each figure carries its own citation, because the periods differ.

All Denmark: 2,924,122 employed in 2019 and 3,135,965 in 2024. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table RAS301, 2019. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table RAS301, 2024.
Region Nordjylland: 281,338 employed in 2019 and 294,992 in 2024. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table RAS301, 2019. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table RAS301, 2024.
Region Midtjylland: 665,947 employed in 2019 and 711,014 in 2024. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table RAS301, 2019. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table RAS301, 2024.
Region Syddanmark: 587,758 employed in 2019 and 618,225 in 2024. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table RAS301, 2019. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table RAS301, 2024.
Region Hovedstaden: 1,045,490 employed in 2019 and 1,145,137 in 2024. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table RAS301, 2019. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table RAS301, 2024.
Region Sjælland: 337,840 employed in 2019 and 360,748 in 2024. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table RAS301, 2019. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table RAS301, 2024.

Unemployment month by month

AUS08 counts unemployed persons, seasonally adjusted, and here we look at the oldest and the newest month in the dataset. Seasonal adjustment makes the months comparable across the year. The figures cover the whole country and the five regions.

All Denmark: 87,761.6 unemployed in 2025M08 and 93,916.6 in 2026M08. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table AUS08, 2025M08. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table AUS08, 2026M08.
Region Nordjylland: 8,703.7 unemployed in 2025M08 and 9,002.3 in 2026M08. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table AUS08, 2025M08. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table AUS08, 2026M08.
Region Midtjylland: 18,985.4 unemployed in 2025M08 and 19,640.1 in 2026M08. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table AUS08, 2025M08. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table AUS08, 2026M08.
Region Syddanmark: 16,928.0 unemployed in 2025M08 and 17,386.6 in 2026M08. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table AUS08, 2025M08. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table AUS08, 2026M08.
Region Hovedstaden: 32,333.2 unemployed in 2025M08 and 36,326.8 in 2026M08. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table AUS08, 2025M08. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table AUS08, 2026M08.
Region Sjælland: 10,811.4 unemployed in 2025M08 and 11,560.8 in 2026M08. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table AUS08, 2025M08. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table AUS08, 2026M08.

What the numbers do not say

Occupation groups are DISCO-08 groups, not job titles, so the growth of a single job title cannot be read from them.
Median hourly earnings is a median, not a salary band and not a monthly salary.
Job postings and skill demand are not in this dataset; that source (Jobindsats) is not available yet.
Employment figures show the newest published period, and that period is stated on each figure.

Frequently asked questions

What is the median hourly pay in Denmark?: It varies a lot between occupation groups. Managers is highest at DKK 580.20 per hour, and Elementary occupations is lowest at DKK 272.46 per hour. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table LONS20, 2025.
Which occupation group is growing most?: Professionals has the largest relative change among the occupation groups, from 575,897 people in 2020 to 673,057 in 2025. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table LONS20, 2020. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table LONS20, 2025.
How many people are employed in the Capital Region?: 1,145,137 people were employed at the end of November in 2024. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table RAS301, 2024.
How has unemployment developed?: For the whole country there were 87,761.6 unemployed in 2025M08 and 93,916.6 in 2026M08. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table AUS08, 2025M08. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table AUS08, 2026M08.
Can I use the figures to judge my own pay?: No, the median per hour is a midpoint in a distribution, not a salary band. For your own situation read [salary negotiation](guide:salary-negotiation), but the median for Managers is DKK 580.20 per hour in 2025. Source: Danmarks Statistik, table LONS20, 2025.