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July 2, 2009
Average salary highest in East Iceland
The number of residents in Fjardabyggd municipality has grown by 19% between the years of 2002 and 2008. The average salary has, during this period, been higher in East Iceland than any other area outside the capital area.
From year 2002, that is, before the Alcoa Fjardaál smelter construction started in Reydarfjordur, to December 1st last year, the number of residents in Fjardabyggd municipality grew by 19%. Whereas in the area that now is Fjardabyggd municipality, there were 3,995 residents in 2002, the number had gone up to 4,736 inhabitants on December 1st, 2008. In this period, the average salary outside the capital area has been highest in East Iceland.
Alcoa Fjardaál exported aluminum worth 800 million dollars in 2008, and it is estimated that about one-third of the company's export revenue remains in Iceland. Almost 40% of the total exports from Iceland is aluminum.
Usually, around 700 people work on the smelter site, either directly for Alcoa Fjardaál or contractors hired by the company. The revenue for local municipalities, from dues that the smelter pays to Fjardabyggd, and taxes from smelter and contractor employees, amounted to over 6.5 million dollars last year. The tax revenues are distributed between the municipalities of Fjardabyggd, where around 70% of the employees live, and Fljótsdalshérad where 30% of them live.
The University of Iceland's Economic Institute (Hagfrædistofnun Háskóla Íslands) estimated that the national production would increase by 1.2% with the Alcoa Fjardaál smelter. Alcoa Fjardaál and the Alcoa Foundation have invested over 2.7 million dollars in community grants in Iceland from 2003 to 2008.
These facts are taken from Fjardaálsfréttir, a newsletter issued annually by Alcoa Fjardaál, and distributed to all homes in East Iceland. It is available to view or download here (only in Icelandic, PDF 1.5 Mb).
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