Ratio Working Paper No. 319: Labor market Integration of Refugees in Scandinavia after 2015

Abstract

Sweden, Denmark and Norway have long been refugee destinations. All three countries received record numbers of asylum seekers between 2015 and 2016. This paper gives an overview and comparison on integration policies and labor market outcomes for refugees in the three countries after 2015. The paper also provides lessons from Scandinavia on fostering successful labor market integration for refugees.

Ratio Working Paper No. 350: A quickly transforming labour market

Working paperPublication

Uddén Sonnegård, E.

Download

Publication year

2021

Published in

Ratio Working Paper

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic has made it clear that the labour market situation can change
extremely rapidly when there is an unexpected exogenous shock to the economy. Even
though the transformation of the labour market as a result of the development of ICT
(Information Communication Technology) industries facilitates more-flexible
conditions, it is now more important than ever for EU Member States to improve the
functioning of their labour markets. Member States need to increase possibilities for
training and retraining throughout peoples’ working lives in order to smooth the
transformation into a digital world of work.

En dynamisk arbetsmarknad

BookPublication

Stern, L.

Publication year

2019

Published in

Stockholm: Dialogos

Abstract

Hur påverkas svensk arbetsmarknad av teknikutveckling, tjänstefiering, entreprenörskap och immigration? Hur väl förmår de institutionella villkoren i form av lagar, regler och skatter att hänga med?

Detta är temat för forskningsantologin En dynamisk arbetsmarknad.

En väl fungerande arbetsmarknad förutsätter ändamålsenliga villkor för medarbetare och arbetsgivare i syfte att uppmuntra utveckling, jobbskapande och tillväxt. I en föränderlig värld behöver dessa villkor utvecklas och förbättras.

Femton forskare i ekonomisk historia, företagsekonomi, nationalekonomi, sociologi och statsvetenskap analyserar de viktigaste omvärldsförändringarna och de lagar, regler och skatter som påverkar förutsättningarna på arbetsmarknaden. Studierna bygger på empiriska undersökningar och forskningssammanställningar, och syftet är att bidra till en välgrundad diskussion om framtiden för svensk arbetsmarknad.

Scandinavia: Refugees at work

Book chapterPublication

Joyce, P.

Publication year

2019

Published in

Hesselmans M

Abstract

Germany was the top destination country by far for refugees arriving in the years between 2014 and 2017. But much-smaller Sweden received more asylum applications in relation to its population. The other two Scandinavian countries – Norway and Denmark – also saw significant numbers of asylum seekers in relation to their small populations. Since then, Scandinavian countries have turned to the sizable task of integrating new arrivals into the labour market. Refugees have struggled to find work in the Scandinavian countries. Figure 1 shows the employment rate (per cent) among adult refugees in Sweden, Denmark and Norway by years after arrival in the host country. As shown in Figure 1 only between 20 and 35 per cent of male refugees are working two years after arrival. The share in work increases with each year after arrival but employment generally plateaus after ten to fifteen years, significantly below the employment rate among the overall population. Female refugees need more time than males to find work. They usually have less schooling than their male counterparts and often bear children after arrival.48 Employment among female refugees picks up after some time though.

Refugees have long faced several barriers to finding work in Scandinavia, including lower average levels of education than the domestic workforce, lack of host-country language skills, a limited professional network and discrimination.49 These challenges, combined with the large number of arrivals in 2015–16, increased the willingness of Scandinavian governments to promote faster tracks to employment. In Denmark large reforms of integration policies were introduced in 2016. This led to substantial improvements in labour market outcomes.

Ratio Working Paper No. 319: Labor market Integration of Refugees in Scandinavia after 2015

Working Paper no. 319

Abstract

Similar content

Ratio Working Paper No. 350: A quickly transforming labour market

En dynamisk arbetsmarknad

Scandinavia: Refugees at work