Labour Market
Joint fight against long-term unemployment
Getting the long-term unemployed back into work is hard. You need focus, determination, the will to try new things and good cooperation between companies, job centres and education, says Denmark's Minister of Labour Inger Støjberg. She is gathering inspiration for a new initiative against long-term unemployment.
The Nordic region tightens sick leave rules
One of the pillars of Nordic welfare systems is the right to sickness pay. But should employees enjoy the same pay whether or not they are at work? Who decides how long a person can be off sick? What kind of contact should the worker maintain with the employer? These questions are fuelling a heated debate in several Nordic countries. We take a closer look at new measures and rules being tightened.
New rules for long-term sick leave in Sweden
Swedish job centres face busy times as 16,000 people on long-term sick leave are transferred from the Swedish Social Insurance Agency to the Public Employment Service. From now on they should be offered individual help and advise to help them re-join working life. The move has been met with fierce criticism, forcing the government to back down on several points.
Towards a common EU integration policy
Integration policy is a national responsibility within the EU, but the Swedish presidency has made an effort to make it easier to compare just how well member states integrate new arrivals.
Immigration amplifies differences between Nordic countries
One of the things separating the Nordic countries from each other is what immigrant groups they have attracted, and how long they have stayed. Compared to many other European countries though, they have something in common: the refugee percentage is high.
Helping new arrivals realise their dreams
"I have been thinking lately that I have experience many others lack, which allows me some degree of authority to speak on what works and what doesn't when it comes to integration policy," says Nyamko Sabuni, Sweden's Minister for Integration and Gender Equality.
Immigration policy change: from humanism to pragmatism
The term refugee could be disappearing. People are deemed immigrants and allowed in if a country feels they could be useful. Current demography dictates a stimulation of labour immigration, while asylum policies are being tightened. Europe's migration policy is changing shape.
Holding on to the foreign workers
More and more Danish companies are increasing their drive to recruit foreign workers. Wind turbine producer Vestas has experienced the importance of creating a social network for foreign workers, and how important it is to help their spouses to find work too.
Labour ministers up the fight to prevent a lost generation
How do you fight youth unemployment? That was the theme when Nordic labour ministers met in Reykjavik in November. One in five European youths is unemployed. There is fear of a lost generation. The Nordic countries focus on education and help on an individual level to help young people into working life.
Youth, unemployment and new thinking
New thinking is needed if the young generation is to secure the older generation of the future. Youth unemployment is on the rise and is forecasted to continue growing in 2010. For many there is real danger of permanent unemployment. Nordic Labour Journal takes a look at how unemployment affects Nordic youths.
Iceland's crisis
The money, the assets - have they all evaporated? Once upon a time there was a tiny country - an island - far out at sea, west of Scandinavia, east of the large American continent.
Downturn hits youth hardest - Sweden takes undesirable lead
An economic downturn often hits young people fastest and hardest. The current crisis is no exception. The Nordic countries usually boast some of Europe's lowest unemployment figures. Now 27.3 percent of Swedish 15 to 24 year-olds are out of work.
Finland's system of "job alternation" becomes permanent
The popular Finnish system of "job alternation" will continue. The system proved so popular and efficient the government decided in September to draft a law to make it permanent.
Iceland: light at the end of the tunnel?
When faced with an economic crisis, Icelanders used to simply buckle down and work harder for a while. Now they're faced with the unusual situation of having no jobs to go to. This economic crisis has hit everybody hard, and especially the unemployed.
New ideas for virtual job seeking
After more than a decade with vacancy databanks on the Internet, it is hard to imagine a time when job searches were not made electronically. Information technology has widened the reach of the companies and multiplied the choice for the jobseekers. But has it improved the matching?
Working con amore
After fifteen years in Italy, it feels wonderful to be taken on the wings of the Scandinavian labour market. Not under! That's the whole point.
Theme: The hunt for manpower is on
Will there be enough manpower when economies grow year on year while populations are ageing? No, say many employers in the Nordic countries. Their warning is that lack of manpower will jeopardise economic growth and innovation. Governments too are on the alert. Welfare states are dependent on enough workers to keep ticking over.
Labour shortage on everyone's lips
Are we running out of manpower? After years of economic boom in the Nordic countries, an increasing number of businesses say they can no longer expand simply because there are not enough qualified people to employ. Meanwhile, a demographic problem is lurking; the large groups of people born in the 1940s are about to retire.
EU enlargement two years on: what challenges to the Nordic labour market?
The growing mobility of labour from EU-8 after 1 May 2004 has contributed to increasing production and employment, curbing of prices and interest rates, and extending the room of manoeuvre in economic policies in the Nordic countries.
Norway's new Super Minister: Bjarne Håkon Hanssen
Work for all is one of the main aims of Norway's new left-of-centre government. "Super Minister" Bjarne Håkon Hanssen carries a great responsibility. He controls one in three of every krone in the budget. He has to make sure the government reaches its goal of a more inclusive working life. The hidden unemployment must be fought, and more people of employable age must be included in working life.
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