prop · GX0334en · 2009-10-21 00:00:00 — In 2008 1.4 per cent of unemployed adult men and 1.1 per cent of unemployed adult women had not been offered a job, apprenticeship position, supplementary education and training or other employability For young men, the corresponding proportion was 3.6 per cent and for young women 3.0 per cent. Source: see indicator 19.M3. By 2010, 25 per cent of the long-term unemployed should participate in an measure in the form of education and training, retraining, work practice or other employability measure, with the aim of achieving the average of the three most advanced Member States. In 2008 a total of 76.9 per cent of long-term unemployed men and 75.6 per cent of long-term unemployed women participated in some kind of labour market programme. Source: see indicator 19.M4. Jobseekers throughout the EU are to get information on all job vacancies advertised through Member States' employment services. All job vacancies registered with the Swedish Public Employment Service are announced in the EURES system. Source: there is no indicator. The effective average exit age from the labour market will have been lengthened by five years at the EU level by 2010 compared with 2001 (59.9 years). communication 2008/09:34 51 The effective average exit age from the labour market was 63.9 years in 2007, compared with 62.1 years in 2001, an increase of 1.8 years. Source: see indicator 18.M4. By 2010, childcare is to be made available to at least 90 per cent of all children between 3 years of age and the mandatory school age and at least 33 per cent of all children under 3 years. In 2008, 85.6 per cent of all children aged 1 to 5 (78.1 per cent of all children from 1 to 3 and 97.3 per cent of all children between 4 and 5) were enrolled in a preschool or family day care home. Source: the for Education The proportion of students who drop out of school early should on average in the EU not exceed 10 per cent. In 2007, 7.0 per cent of young women and 10.2 per cent of young men aged 18 to 24 had completed compulsory education (ISCED level 2) or less and were no longer in education. Source: see indicator 23.M3. By 2010 at least 85 per cent of all 22-year-olds in the EU are to have completed an upper secondary school education. Among women aged 22, 89.7 per cent had completed an upper secondary education in 2008. The corresponding figure for men aged 22 was 86.2 Source: see indicator 23.M2. Participation in lifelong learning in the EU should on average be at least 12.5 per cent of the adult working-age population (the group aged 25 to In 2008, the proportion of men and women aged 2564 who had participated in some form of education or training in the previous four weeks was 25.8 per cent and 39.3 per cent respectively. Source: see indicator 23.M4. A number of permanent reforms have been made with the aim of increasing the labour supply in the long run and enhancing the competitiveness of those most detached from the labour market. policy thrust is well balanced since the labour supply determines employment in the long run. The most important measures taken by the Government are the in-work tax credit, which reduces income taxes for all wage earners, changes in the unemployment and sickness insurances, the introduction of new start jobs, which lower the employer's costs when they hire those most detached from the labour market, and the restructuring of labour market policy. The Government has also revised labour policy, which involves giving the a clearer remit as an intermediary. There is now a clearer focus in labour market programmes on maintaining job search activities. taken to strengthen groups with a relatively weak foothold in the labour market have largely dealt with increasing employers willingness to recruit from these groups. In times when unemployment is increasing rapidly as a result of the dramatic fall in demand, the policy needs to be supplemented with temporary measures aimed at preventing unemployment from getting stuck at a high level and people from being permanently excluded from the labour market. It is also quite important to enhance the competitiveness of those with a weak foothold in the The Government has therefore introduced measures to help the short- term unemployed increase their chances of quickly getting a new job, and thereby avoiding long-term unemployment, through intensified intermediation/coaching, traineeships and education. Programme for regional competitiveness and employment complements the regular labour market policy. initiatives in the programme, which now focus on skills development in firms where a large number of dismissal notices have been issued, plays an important role in the current economic situation. From 20062008, the trend in the number of employed and unemployed was very positive in . This trend was, however, broken in autumn when the financial crisis contributed to a rapid deterioration in the labour market situation, most of it in the fourth However, on an annual basis, 2008 saw high employment and The percentage of employed in the population (aged 1574) was 66.8 per cent in 2008, according to Statistics . employment rate among women was 63.8 per cent and 69.6 per cent Compared with 2007, the employment rate was largely unchanged for both sexes. The employment rate among young people (aged 1524) increased somewhat for women while it declined slightly among men. The number of unemployed as a percentage of the labour force (aged 1574) came to 6.2 per cent in 2008. Unemployment was lower among men (5.9 per cent) than among women (6.6 per cent). Compared with 2007, relative unemployment for both women and men was almost unchanged. Youth unemployment (aged 1524) was 20.2 per cent, which was an increase of 1 percentage point compared with 2007. The increase occurred among both young women and men. National unemployment 2008, per cent Source: Statistics . Employment growth among those born abroad was positive in 2008. The percentage of the population employed came to 58.1 per cent, which was an increase of 0.8 percentage points compared with 2007. The increase was primarily among foreign-born men. The unemployment rate among those born abroad was 12 per cent in 2008 (12.8 per cent for women and 11.3 per cent for men). Compared with 2007, there was a slight increase in unemployment among foreign-born women while unemployment among foreign-born men declined somewhat. EU employment target and outcome for in 2008, per cent Older workers, aged 55 Employment rate, aged EU target for 2010 Compared with 2007, the size of the labour force relative to the size of the population (aged 1574), the relative labour force participation, remained unchanged at 71.2 per cent for both women and men in 2008. The relative labour force participation among young people increased by 0.5 percentage points to 52.4 per cent. It increased somewhat more among men. Among the foreign born, the corresponding increase was 1.0 percentage points and relative labour force participation totalled 66.1 per cent. The increase in the labour supply was primarily among men born abroad. As a result, the gap in labour force participation between foreignborn women and men is increasing. The deterioration in the labour market in autumn has gathered strength in the first half of 2009. Employment has declined, particularly among young people and men. Unemployment has increased sharply in the first half of 2009 to 8.5 per cent. The largest increase has been among young people (aged 1524), particularly among young men. The serious deterioration in the economic situation is expected to lead to a continued increase in unemployment among both women and men for the rest of 2009 and in 2010. According to the Government's latest forecast in the 2010 Budget , unemployment is expected to increase to 11.4 per cent in 2010. Productivity developments are of considerable importance in GDP growth and the development of welfare. Some important determinants of productivity growth are technological development, the quality of the labour force, research, competitive conditions, infrastructure and a labour market that functions efficiently without blocking or delaying structural change. Production in the business sector and the economy as a whole has declined on account of sharp falls in the demand for Swedish export products and services in 2008 and 2009. The greatest part of this decline is in industry where the fall in production is expected to come to 18.6 per cent in 2009. The following year, the demand for export goods is expected to grow and industrial production that year is expected to increase by 3.1 per cent. Total production in the business sector is expected to increase by 0.5 per cent in 2010. The reduced production in industry and in large parts of the service sector has involved substantial reductions in staff and consequently the number of hours worked. The number of hours worked in the business sector is expected to decline by 5.2 per cent in 2009 and by another 2.3 per cent in 2010. The decline in the number of hours worked, which is common in the early stages of an economic downturn, has been slower than the decline in the business sector's aggregate production, which caused a fall in productivity. In 2008 productivity declined by 2.7 per cent in the business sector and by 1.7 per cent in the whole economy. In 2009 productivity in the business sector and in the economy as a whole is expected to continue to fall. In 2010 productivity is expected to start to rise again as production increases more rapidly than employment. Productivity is expected to increase by 2.9 per cent in the business sector and by 2.1 per cent in the economy as a whole in 2010. Productivity growth, annual percentage change, prices Note: Labour productivity measured as value added at base price per hour worked. Source: 2010 Budget . The Government has taken a number of measures that strengthen longterm productivity growth. These measures include research initiatives, measures to increase competition, infrastructure measures and tax measures. New state funding amounting to billion will be allocated for research beginning in 2009 and will gradually increase to billion by 2012 as a permanent addition. Most of the initiative consists of increases in appropriations to universities and colleges and strategic initiatives in medicine, technology and the climate area. To improve competition, 's exclusive right to operate passenger traffic on weekends and holidays was ended on 1 2009. 's monopoly was also abolished as of 1 2009. Other actors, under certain conditions, are now eligible to conduct retail trade in pharmaceutical products, which was previously 's exclusive right. The Government has also taken measures to increase diversity in the health care and social care sectors. To improve the conditions for jobs and business development and generally greater accessibility, an extensive state planning frame for infrastructure for 20102021 has been decided. The frame amounts to billion, whereof billion is intended for the development of the transport system. Beginning in 2009, there will be an increase of billion a year in the appropriation. Infrastructure initiatives are expected to increase efficiency in the entire transport system and help increase productivity in the economy in the long run. The corporate tax rate and the expansion fund tax were cut from 28 to 26.3 per cent from 1 January 2009. The tax reduction is expected to make companies more apt to locate, invest and report income in . Increased investment can be expected to contribute to more rapid productivity growth. The Government has also set a target for reducing the administrative burden for business caused by state regulations by 25 per cent during its term of office. A reduced administrative burden contributes to higher productivity by freeing up firms' resources. There is also an initiative for training in entrepreneurship in higher education. To counteract the economic crisis, the Government has taken several proactive measures in the form of tax relief as well as education, infrastructure and welfare initiatives. Labour market policy has been strengthened with the aim of preventing the short-term unemployed from becoming long-term unemployed and maintaining the competitiveness of the long-term unemployed. There has also been a focus on continuing the work to make it easier for groups that often have difficulty getting established in the labour market. Local government is responsible for core welfare activities such as schools, childcare, elderly care and social services; see also 2 on structural indicators. To safeguard these activities, the Government has temporarily increased support to the local government sector. Reduced regional differences in the labour market help strengthen territorial cohesion. The current economic downturn in has contributed to a slight increase in the differences between counties in unemployment and employment on account of regional variations in the economic cycle. The economic downturn began early in some counties, while in other counties it has not yet been fully felt. Employment increased in most counties between 2007 and 2008, with some exceptions, primarily in the forested counties in northern . In 2008 unemployment in the 1574 age group was 6.2 per cent nationally and varied between 4.6 per cent in County and 7.9 per cent in County. The same year, the employment rate for those aged 1574 was highest in County at 71.7 per cent and lowest in County at 61.7 per cent. The difference between the counties with the highest and the lowest employment rates was almost 10 percentage points in 2008, which was an increase compared with 2007, according to Statistics . There are also substantial regional differences in dismissal notice statistics. Dismissal notices issued in autumn have primarily affected counties with large manufacturing industries. The regional differences in unemployment are also likely to rise in the future. The Government's labour market initiatives are of key importance for both those regions affected early on in the business cycle, for example, forested and manufacturing counties, and for the service-producing metropolitan counties that may be affected later. For the Government's national strategy for regional competitiveness, entrepreneurship and employment for 20072013, see Section 3.3 Open, well-functioning markets in a sustainable economy and Chapter 5 Programme in for the Programme Period 20072013, both important tools in this work. The strategy lays the groundwork for the implementation of and serves as a guide for the work on regional growth and for national public authorities. In the strategy, the Government identifies skills provision and an increased supply of labour as one of four national priorities in the years to come. (See also Chapter 5 Programmes in for the Programme Period 20072013). 4.2A labour market for all Promote a life cycle approach to work Ensure inclusive labour markets, enhance work attractiveness, and make work pay for job seekers, including disadvantaged people and the inactive The Government's policy objective is for the measures to contribute to a well-functioning labour market to overcome exclusion and achieve sustainably high employment. Labour market policy has been adjusted for the deterioration in the cyclical situation by means of a forceful initiative with measures for both the long-term and the short-term unemployed. An labour market policy forms the basis for maintaining the workfirst principle in an economic downturn. A number of reforms have strengthened the role of unemployment insurance as an adjustment insurance. It is also important in the current economic situation that as many people as possible have the opportunity to participate in the insurance. The Government has also introduced a number of other reforms to overcome exclusion and increase the employment rate, such as income tax cuts for all wage earners, the in-work tax credit, lower costs for employers who hire people who are most detached from the labour market, new start jobs and reforms of the social insurance system. As a result of the reforms in the social insurance systems, a large number of people whose entitlement to sickness benefit or sickness compensation has run out will receive support from the in returning to the labour market. People with disabilities and newly arrived immigrants are two groups that have more difficulty getting established in the labour market no matter what the economic situation is and have been made a high people are also an important target group in the Government's efforts to overcome exclusion. Measures for young people people, like other groups with a weak foothold in the labour market, are hit hard by global crises and economic downturns. Conversely, employment among young people increases more rapidly in One explanation why they are hit hard in economic downturns is that young people are more apt to have temporary jobs than are older age groups, and therefore tend to be affected first. rules in effect in in the event of redundancies, which are based on the 'last-in-first-out'- principle, are often given as a reason why permanently employed young people are also hit than their permanently employed , as young people often have been employed the shortest time at the workplace. The negative effects of the current crisis and the economic downturn on youth unemployment can be clearly seen in the statistics; see Figure 2. Unemployment in , persons aged 1524 (Seasonally adjusted, three-year moving average) Note: Chain-linked values Source: Statistics . To make it easier for young people to enter the labour market and get work experience, the Government has halved the social contributions for all people under the age of 26. The result is a substantial reduction in the costs of employing a young person. Furthermore, the rules in the Employment Protection Act for those who are temporarily employed have been changed with the aim of making it easier to employ people for a limited time. During 2009 through 2011, it is possible for unemployed young people to participate in an expanded matching activity with personal coaches early in the unemployment spell. From 1 2009, the age limit for qualifying for a new start job has been adjusted to the level in effect for the reduction in social contributions. A person who has turned 20 but not 26 and has been unemployed for at least six months now qualifies for a new start job. Under new start jobs, the employer is compensated with an amount equivalent to the normal employers' social contribution. The reduced social contributions, together with the reductions associated with new start jobs for young people, mean that the wage cost of hiring a young person in a new start job is about 40 per cent lower than it would be without these changes. The job guarantee for young people is directed at unemployed young people who have been registered with the continuously for three months. The aim of the job guarantee is to offer unemployed young people activities to enable them to get a job as quickly as possible or alternatively to begin or resume an education in the regular education system. The focus in the guarantee is on job search activities, since research and experience from other countries shows that this is an effective way of getting young people into work. activities can then be combined with work experience placements and In the 2010 Budget , the Government announced that it intends to introduce further measures as part of the job guarantee for young people. New initiatives in the job guarantee include the new activation measure Lyft (the Boost), support for starting a business and vocational The Government will also give participants in the job guarantee the opportunity to participate in the guarantee part time so that they can use the remaining time to study in the municipal adult education Likewise, participants in the job guarantee will be able to take part in Swedish for Immigrants (SFI) part time while devoting the rest of their time to other activities that are part of the guarantee. the training offered in the job guarantee for young people, the Government now also intends to introduce an extra initiative with an incentive to study for unemployed young people who have not finished compulsory or upper secondary school. This is in the form of a special initiative in the folk high schools. The public education system has a very important role in mitigating the effect of higher unemployment. People should be able to update and enhance their skills so that they are better equipped for the labour market. The public education system has already earlier been allocated additional resources and there is an extensive education initiative in the 2010 In recent years, youth unemployment has increased in all EU countries and youth unemployment in is among the highest in the EU. Youth unemployment in has increased more among men than However, international comparisons may generally speaking be problematic as described in Statistics 's Statistical Reports AM 11 SM0903. Institutional factors governed by political decisions, for example, the way in which the labour market functions (labour legislation), the education system and the forms and extent of student aid probably explain a large part of the difference between the countries' level of youth unemployment and/or developments. The incentives structure, the incentives to look for work and register as unemployed, may be one important explanation and may be governed by political decisions. are, however, a number of factors and country-specific aspects that It is difficult to isolate the effects these aspects have on However, various factors are usually emphasised as likely explanations for part of this variation, even though there is no concrete evidence to support them. One of the aspects most often discussed is the differences in labour legislation in various countries. is considered to have one of the stronger employment protection schemes for the permanently employed Priority rules in particular are emphasised as an important factor in the difficulties young people have getting established in the Comparing countries' labour law protection is, however, problematic due to the differences in implementation, i.e. the exceptions and the opportunities available for negotiating exceptions from the legislation, and result in agreements and applications that differ from the formal rules. The degree of decentralisation in wage formation is also thought to play a role. Compared with other countries, wage formation in is considered less decentralised, the wage spread is less and starting salaries are higher and appear to have increased over time. This, combined with strong employment protection, is believed to drive up youth unemployment more in than in many other countries. The increase in youth unemployment may, however, have been reduced by the cut in the social contributions made by the incumbent government. One more aspect that is usually put forward is the sluggishness in the transition from school to work. In , vocational training is mainly school based, while in countries where unemployment is low, apprenticeships are more common. This difference may on the one hand explain the sluggish transition from school to working life in but it may on the other hand make comparisons more difficult. The reason is that apprentices are counted as employed in the statistics since they work and earn a wage whereas students in school-based vocational training do not participate in the labour force. The growth in youth unemployment in is serious and the current level is cause for concern. However, there are aspects that the definition of unemployment does not cover, but are important to highlight in this context.