Labour Market
A Nordic state of emergency
The corona epidemic has closed borders in the Nordic region and the rest of the world. In most countries governments have increased their powers and citizenship has become more important, while personal freedom has been restrained.
National decisions have major consequences for border regions
Activate the networks, develop the dialogues, identify the updates. These are necessary and urgent tasks for the Nordic border region information services, thrown up by the corona crisis. Öresunddirekt in Malmö remains closed to visitors. Behind doors, there is plenty of action.
The Öresund cooperation was set to expand – then corona hit
Billions of kroner. That is the estimated annual benefit for Denmark and Sweden resulting from a fully integrated labour market across Öresund. Nine focus areas have been identified and presented, ready for action as soon as the corona crisis ends.
Corona crisis drives up Nordic unemployment
Unemployment has risen dramatically across the Nordics since the emergence of the coronavirus. The countries have chosen different ways of handling the situation, however, based on different labour market models, measures imposed and the shape of the labour market.
Record low unemployment in the Faroe Islands – just 296 people
Nowhere in the Nordics will you find a higher employment rate than in the Faroe Islands right now. It stands at 90%, and unemployment is only 0.9%. What is it like in a society where nearly everyone has a job, and where being unemployed is correspondingly difficult?
Nordic visions of more children and fewer suicides
The Nordic cooperation's symbol is a swan. But black swans also symbolise the unexpected. This newsletter is about both birth and death. Assistant nurses play an important role in what happens between those two events.
Less part-time work to secure more “warm hands”
A major and urgent lack of trained social and health care assistants – so-called SOSUs – has led to a heated debate over the widespread use of part-time jobs in Denmark’s social and health care sector.
Swedish assistant nurses want higher status through legal recognition
Assistant nurse is one of the most common professions in Sweden. 180 000 out of a total of 200 000 workers in elderly care are assistant nurses, but unlike their other Nordic colleagues, their profession is not regulated. Making this happen has long been a trade union demand and right now legislation is being prepared which might give them a protected title.
Torbjørn Røe Isaksen takes on tricky government post
Torbjørn Røe Isaksen became Norway’s new Minister of Labour and Social Inclusion on 24 January. It is the least sought-after government post right now, after the biggest legal scandal in the country’s history. But Isaksen has ambitions.
Tuula Haatainen new Finnish Minister of Employment
Experienced Haatainen (59) joins a government which features numerous young female minister. So what experience do Finnish politicians have from real working life? The question arose with Finland’s sudden change of government in mid-December.
New agreement for education on the Cap of the North
The Arctic Vocational Foundation has secured funding from Sweden, Finland and Norway for a further four years of vocational training for youths. A total of 285 youths will be trained every year.
Greenland needs new jobs and foreign labour
There is an urgent need to create new jobs in Greenland’s mining and tourism industries. At the same time more foreign labour is needed, say the social partners.
Eva Nordmark's task: to liberalise Sweden’s employment act and reform the employment service
When former TCO President Eva Nordmark accepted to replace Ylva Johansson as Sweden’s Minister for Employment, she also accepted to follow up on proposals she had been critical of in the past, like the liberalisation of the employment act.
Peter Hummelgaard: aims to secure early retirement for tired workers
The Danish labour market is facing major changes if Minister for Employment Peter Hummelgaard manages to get support for his plans. He wants to fight for fairer conditions for people with lower levels of education and for those in low-paid jobs.
Unique study compares how Denmark, Norway and Sweden integrate refugees
Who is best out of Denmark, Norway and Sweden at integrating refugees into their labour market? The answer depends at what stage after the refugees’ arrival you measure the success. Refugees to Denmark find jobs faster, but in the longer run more refugees get jobs in Sweden than in Denmark. Norway is the clear winner when it comes to integrating female refugees.
Severe cuts to the Swedish Public Employment Service
What does the labour market look like for unemployed employment service workers? The question is suddenly relevant for a lot of staff at the Swedish Public Employment Service. 4,500 of them were given their notice on the 30th of January this year.
OECD: Iceland makes more from tourism than fisheries
Tourism has become Iceland’s largest trade and top source of income representing 8.3 percent of GDP, according to the OECD report “Tourism Trends and Policies 2018. Only in Spain, Portugal and Mexico does tourism make up a greater percentage of GDP. 14 percent of Iceland’s labour force now works in the tourism industry.
The platform giants are profitable – but create few new jobs
The digital revolution will transform the work force in the 21st Century, just as the industrial revolution. But technology will create a host of new type of jobs and challenges as society moves from muscle and brainpower to data power, according to professors Bo Dahlbom and Ragnar Torvik.
OECD: The crisis is over, but collective bargaining is needed for wage growth
For the first time, more people are now in work in OECD countries than before the 2008 economic crisis. But the increased employment rate has not led to higher wages. The OECD says collective bargaining represents one of the most important tools for increasing living standards.
The OECD wants action now: Opportunities for all is the new measure of success
Inequalities are growing. We have plenty of data telling us that – now is the time for action, says the OECD’s Gabriela Ramos.
Document Actions
Follow us on Facebook
