IT consultant or permanent employee?

When an organisation needs IT competence, two questions decide: how long does the need last, and should the knowledge stay in the organisation? The answers determine whether it pays to hire, to hire in or to buy a service. We have gathered figures from SSB, DFØ, the Storting and the Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority on how Norwegian organisations actually use IT consultants – and what it costs.

• 65 %of Norwegian enterprises with at least ten employees had ICT tasks performed by external providers in 2025.SSB
• NOK 5.9 bnwas spent by the state on consultants in software and ICT development in 2023 – 45 % of all consultancy purchases.DFØ
• About 2×as much does an IT consultant cost per year as pay and contributions for a permanent employee.Our estimate, see below

Much of IT is outsourced

According to SSB, 65 per cent of Norwegian enterprises with at least ten employees had ICT tasks performed by external providers in 2025, while 50 per cent used their own staff. Among the largest enterprises, most do both. Only 8 per cent of enterprises tried to recruit ICT specialists during the year.

The market for IT services has grown strongly. In 2024 the IT services industry had 13,438 enterprises, 68,531 employed and a turnover of NOK 217.5 billion, according to preliminary figures from SSB. Turnover has almost doubled since 2019, while employment has grown by 32 per cent.

The state wants to cut – but IT consultants are increasing

Since 2022, all state agencies have been instructed to reduce their use of consultants where their own staff can do the job, and they must report what they spend. This has had an effect on the total: measured in constant 2024 kroner, central government spent NOK 12.6 billion on consultants in 2024, 10.3 per cent less than the peak in 2021.

IT is going the other way. In 2023 the state spent NOK 5.9 billion on consultants in software and ICT development, about 45 per cent of all consultancy purchases. It was the only one of the four consultancy categories that grew in 2023, and it has grown by almost 10 per cent since 2019.

Figures from the central government accounts, reported by Altinget, show that purchases of IT consultants rose by a further NOK 630 million, almost 7 per cent, from 2024 to 2025. The ministries’ framework agreement for ICT consultancy services shows the same pressure: the Office of the Auditor General found that NOK 787 million was bought under an agreement with a ceiling of NOK 600 million.

The reason is not just will, but access. In DFØ’s survey, almost 70 per cent of state agencies say they buy IT consultants because they lack capacity, and about half because they lack the competence or cannot recruit and retain it. According to SSB, 76.1 per cent of the state agencies that recruited ICT specialists in 2025 had difficulties doing so. Pay plays a part: ICT professionals earned an average of NOK 69,390 a month in the state, against 81,070 in the private sector.

What does a consultant cost compared with a permanent employee?

There are no official statistics on hourly rates for IT consultants. The consultant marketplace Folq reports that the average hourly rate in its assignments was NOK 1,416 in 2025, ranging from about NOK 900 to 2,000. For a permanent employee we can use SSB’s pay statistics and the statutory contributions. The calculation below is an estimate, not a statistic.

With 1,500–1,700 productive hours a year, the permanent employee costs NOK 655–740 per hour in pay and contributions, while the consultant costs about twice as much. But the comparison is not entirely fair. The permanent employee also brings costs for office, equipment, training, recruitment, sick leave and time without tasks, and many companies have better pension schemes than the minimum. You pay the consultant only while you need the competence, and you can start without a recruitment process.

Time matters too. In HR Norge’s 2026 survey, 58 per cent of organisations spend 30–59 days on a recruitment, and then comes the notice period of the person who is to start. A defined need may be over before a permanent employee is in place. Conversely, an average assignment at Folq lasted 21 months including extensions. When a temporary need becomes permanent, the consultant quickly becomes the most expensive option.

The rules on hiring in are stricter than before

From 1 April 2023, it became harder to hire in workers from staffing agencies. Hiring in is no longer allowed just because the work is temporary. It is allowed, among other things, for temporary cover, or by written agreement with employee representatives in companies bound by a collective agreement with a union that has the right to make such agreements.

• Exception for specialist competence. Organisations may hire in specialists for advisory and consultancy services in a clearly defined project when they lack the competence themselves. The Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority mentions development of software and ICT solutions as an example. Ordinary operations and ongoing tasks fall outside, and the basis must be documented in writing if employee representatives ask.
• Approved staffing agencies only. From 2024, it is only legal to hire in from staffing agencies approved by the Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority. Sole proprietorships and single-person limited companies cannot be approved.
• Right to permanent employment after three years. A hired-in worker who has been hired in continuously for more than three years has the right to permanent employment with the hiring company.
• Buying a service is something else. If the supplier leads the work and is responsible for the result, it is a purchase of services, not hiring in. Hiring in from consulting firms that are not staffing agencies has its own rules.

The rules have affected the market. In the staffing industry’s own statistics, the number of hours in IT fell by 19.4 per cent from 2024 to 2025. SSB notes that the number of employees in staffing fell after the rules were introduced, but that the effect of the rules cannot be separated from the business cycle.

This is a simplified overview, not legal advice. The Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority has detailed guidance, and a proposal for a temporary exemption from the approval scheme for IT consulting firms is still under consideration.

When does which model pay off?

A useful rule of thumb: if the need lasts more than a year and concerns ongoing tasks, a permanent hire is usually cheaper – and hiring in is then often not permitted either. If the need is defined, requires specialist competence and must start quickly, a consultant is often the best choice, even though the hourly rate is higher.

The consultant costs more per hour, but can cost less for a need that is defined. The question is not what is cheapest, but what the need actually is.

About the figures

Central government consultancy spending exists in several series that must not be mixed: the figures from the Storting cover central government administration in constant 2024 kroner, while the figures Altinget reports from the central government accounts are in current kroner and cover more agencies. SSB’s figures for IT services in 2024 are preliminary, and the ICT figures for enterprises cover those with at least ten employees in selected industries. The hourly rate comes from a single market player, and the cost comparison is our own estimate. Bemanningsbarometeret is the industry’s own statistics.