Employment
Articles on employment in chronological order.
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.
The need for a comprehensive youth policy
Labour ministers want an overview of all measures targeted at youth across all policy areas in the Nordic countries.
Finland hopes for green jobs too
Finland has long made a living from its "green gold" - the forests - even though its pulp mills and paper production plants hardly can be called environmentally friendly.
Tailored and targeted measures to help young Danes
Denmark is launching a tailored and targeted drive for 15 to 17 year-olds to get them into education or work. The Danish government plans to spend 1.25 billion Kroner (€170 million) over three years to see the plan through. But the Danish Confederation of Trade Unions says a threat to cut youth benefits is a slap in the face of the weakest families.
Municipal job activation in the firing line
Denmark has made municipalities solely responsible for job activation and employment projects for the unemployed in what has proved to be a very controversial reform.
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.
The deaf TV editors
In a crisis those on the peripheries of the labour market suffer the most. Who wants to invest in a deaf or deafblind when the future of the company hangs in the balance? ASVO in Bergen, Norway, does exactly that.
Pay cuts - a shortsighted strategy
With the economic downturn unemployment has become a real threat to Nordic workers. Many are prepared to stretch far to keep their jobs, including taking voluntary pay cuts. But pay cuts do not necessarily solve a business' problems, and could prove to be a bottomless pool.
From outsider to employed
Morten Skov Nielsen got a job and lots of self-confidence - and he's growing with the task. ”It's much better than I'd thought”, says 24-year-old Morten Skov Nielsen.
Social entrepreneurs fighting for outsiders
At Stockholm's “Fryshuset” (the Cold Store) a 25-year-old social entrepreneurship is turning the destructive forces which often plague social outsiders to positive forces and insider status. New methods grow to meet new demands. The aim is to catch youth at risk of falling outside of society, to recognise their potential and believe in their power so that they could stay in school and later enter working life.
Employing the last unemployed
Out of a total of 25 million people in the five Nordic countries, there are now only 422,000 unemployed. April saw the Norwegian unemployment rate plummet to 1.6 per cent. Denmark is close with 1.9 per cent. The numbers for Iceland and Sweden are somewhat higher, with 2.3 and 3.2 per cent. Finland has 6.8 per cent.
Working Nation: The Mindset of the Enterprising Icelanders
The Icelanders are known for being a great working nation. No nation has a larger part of the population in employment at any one time.
Reaching the fringes - a more including working place
Never before has the Nordic labour market been in such good shape. 2008 will be the best year ever for newly qualified jobseekers with higher education. But there are still large groups on the fringes of the labour market. These are groups who need a different approach. Denmark trains mentors who look after those in need of special attention.In Sweden, “Fryshuset” tries to stop young people falling outside society.
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.
Fighting over the unemployed
Denmark is changing tack to attract manpower in the face of record low unemployment figures. The transport sector shows the way.
Finland: New government wants increased immigration
Finland has one of the lowest immigration rates in the EU, while its population is ageing quicker than anywhere else in the Union. That does not bode well for the country's future labour market. Now the new government wants to increase labour immigration. But the situation for those already in the country must be improved first.
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.
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