Labour Market
Technology and cooperation key for sustainable development in the Arctic
The Nordic region needs to speak with one voice and develop joint technology if the northernmost parts of Finland, Norway and Sweden want to achieve sustainable development in the Arctic, according to the report ‘Growth from the North’.
Minister for Strategic Development Kristina Persson: make the Arctic “green”
So far she has been the least visible minister in the Swedish government. That’s about to change as she is setting up a think tank in the government offices.
Why own when you can rent? The sharing economy and working life
Uber, Netflix and Airbnb are names associated with the sharing economy — a term which tries to describe the rapid changes in the way we consume goods and services. We rent rather than own, we swap, share, borrow or give away. New technology allows for new kinds of transactions, which in turn influences working life.
Hotels threatened by the sharing economy
New digital services which bring sellers and buyers together are making inroads in traditional areas of business. Most successful of them all is American Airbnb which helps people rent out their apartments. The hotel industry in Finland is fighting back.
The sharing economy is changing the services market
Mow the neighbours lawn? Quickly get hold of a skilled handyman? More and more digital marketplaces are emerging in order to facilitate the link between those who offer and those who need services. There are many different solutions, and two of the market’s players predict that things are only just starting.
“Make the Nordic region a growth centre for the sharing economy”
The Nordic region can become a centre for the sharing economy, which would benefit all of society. But politicians are asleep at the wheel, thinks Charlotte Fischer from the Danish Social Liberal Party. She sits on the Business Council for Sustainable Development, the Congestion Commission and is a member of the regional council of The Capital Region of Denmark.
Women could determine the Nordic model’s future
A high employment rate for women is crucial to the future of the Nordic model. This was the main message from the OECD’s Mark Pearson as the report ‘The Nordic Model – challenged but capable of reform’, was being discussed at the meeting of Nordic labour ministers.
Sweden’s government crisis means less money for working life
On Wednesday 3 December Sweden’s Prime Minister Stefan Löfven announced snap elections will be held on 22 March 2015. His centre-left minority government’s budget was voted down in parliament, which also means the promised increase in spending for the Public Employment Service and the Work Environment Authority will not materialise.
Ylva Johansson: Minister for Employment with a feminist agenda
Her ambitions are clear: youth unemployment is priority number one. Second on the list is to match jobseekers and jobs. She wants to improve working conditions in female-dominated workplaces and she will fight for more social rights within the EU.
Social Europe under pressure
There’s a conflict between the EU’s social ambitions and national autonomy, not least when it comes to the labour market, Sweden’s newly elected Minister for Employment Ylva Johansson told a seminar in Stockholm on 22 October.
Social scientists must guide us out of the crisis
"There is a fire of resentment burning across Europe, and there’s an urgent need to calm tensions. Social scientists need to get involved. Dogmatic economists have been allowed to dominate the debate for too long," says Maurizio Ferrera, Professor at the University of Milan.
A guarantee for the future?
There are fewer young people outside education, employment or training in Denmark than in Sweden. Why do the Danes succeed? While all of Europe is learning from the Finnish youth guarantee, the Nordic Labour Journal has spoken to Nordic youths about their experiences, and examined how countries succeed with their measures. Central to them all are vocational educations, apprenticeships and internships.
Fewer youths equals more jobs?
As the workforce ages and the number of young people of working age falls, their chance of finding a job increases. But it is still too early for politicians to sit back and relax. Powerful measures are needed to fight youth unemployment. One solution is to create more apprenticeships.
Youth guarantee rolls out across the EU
Finland and Austria are in the vanguard when the EU is developing new ways of supporting young people at risk of becoming unemployed. Finland’s youth guarantee means everyone will get a job, internship or training within three months, and the country’s long-term youth unemployment is the lowest in all of the EU.
Denmark strengthens vocational education
Few young Danes are outside of the labour market. Improved vocational education should get even more of them into training and jobs.
Feminists, but also masculinists
The Nordic region has cooperated on gender equality for 40 years. It has been of great importance for equality’s progress and has improved the lives of Nordic citizens, said Eygló Harðardóttir, Iceland’s Minister of Equality during the anniversary celebrations in Iceland on 26 August. Where is the debate today? Is there a need for a new equality narrative?
Unemployment soon back to normal after eruptive increase
Anyone who’s stood frozen-fingered waiting for the Icelandic Strokkur geysir to erupt with its boiling water can imagine what it felt like at Iceland’s Directorate of Labour when unemployment figures started emerging after the 2008 crisis.
Editorial: A piece of Nordic contemporary history
On 22 May 1954 the agreement on a joint Nordic labour market was signed. 60 years on the Nordic Labour Journal talks to Nordic citizens who in each of the six decades tried their luck in a different Nordic country — and we look at how the agreement came to be.
A piece of Nordic contemporary history
On 22 May 1954 the agreement on a joint Nordic labour market was signed. 60 years on the Nordic Labour Journal talks to Nordic citizens who in each of the six decades tried their luck in a different Nordic country — and we look at how the agreement came to be.
Mapped: Nordic migration between 1960 and 2010
There have been major changes between 1960 and 2010. Sweden has the most emigrants, Norway takes in the most immigrants - not only from other Nordic countries, but from former eastern European countries and other parts of the world too.
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