Weekly economics overview
The average monthly salary in Denmark was 48,559 DKK in 2023. Unfortunately, the wage gap between men and women has increased to 12.4% compared to 2022. The average monthly salary for men was 54,574 DKK, while for women it was 45,200 DKK. However, if you disregard the 0.2% increase compared to 2022, the general trend paints a sunnier picture, as the wage gap has narrowed by 25% in the last two decades.
Fixed-rate mortgages at 3.5% interest rate from Totalkredit. Good news for first-time home buyers :). Hopefully, the 1% fixed rate will come back one day (unfortunately, it will not happen before 2027). For those who got a fixed-rate mortgage at 4 or 5%, you should wait with the thoughts of refinancing. Why? Read here.
The end of fake periodic technical inspection (syn) for cars. The Ministry of Transport will introduce a new regulation from January 2025 for inspection halls to reduce cheating. Among other requirements, there needs to be photo documentation of the car that it has actually been in the inspection hall.
You can now drive your car as a taxi (without a special license) on islands smaller than Bornholm without a bridge connection.
We waste 507,000 tons of food every year. In fact, 36% of all the waste in Denmark is food. An economist from Nordea says that an average family could save 700 DKK every month if they could limit food waste to an absolute minimum.
- An average family spends 3,500 DKK on food per month.
- Do you have any great tips on how to reduce food waste in the household? Write an article and send it to reporter@lwid.dk
Focus
Fewer control visits from the Food and Drug Agency (Fødevarestyrelsen): Until now, if they discovered issues during the control visit, there would be two more control visits afterwards (one to check if you fixed the issue and another standard one). Moving forward, they will limit it to only one control visit to check if you fixed the issue.
Have you prepared for a three-day emergency situation? A month or less ago, you should have received a letter in your e-Boks advising you to prepare for crisis situations so that you could survive for at least three days without outside help. See here how some families have prepared their homes for emergency situations.
- Do you want to share your story on how you prepared for emergency situations? Write to us at reporter@lwid.dk
