> The likely reason why he can earn this much with a supermarket job is because everyone else has more disposable income, which means it's easier to make products more expensive and to afford to pay higher salaries for such jobs.
Prices also show this. If you want to go get a couple of beers in Oslo you’ll find $10-15 to be normal in central parts of town ($10 average for the city). Nominal wages don’t say much. Purchase power does.
Beer might be a bad example, isn't alcohol generally very expensive in Scandinavian countries? (Though indeed cost of living is probably on the higher side)
A cup of coffee will be around 35,- (4-5 USD). I think the main thing people often miss is that the price floor is high, but the ceiling isn't too far either. I always recommend tourists to go for the second-most expensive option in Norway - as a general rule. The cheap option is going to be expensive anyway, but the expensive option is likely to be very high quality - and relatively cheap (even including the high VAT).
And yes, taxes on sugar and alcohol adds to high prices for alcohol.
Prices also show this. If you want to go get a couple of beers in Oslo you’ll find $10-15 to be normal in central parts of town ($10 average for the city). Nominal wages don’t say much. Purchase power does.