Employment
Articles on employment in chronological order.
Strong numbers for the Nordic labour market
The Nordic labour markets remain strong and unemployment is at its lowest level for the past three years in all of the Nordic countries. The numbers vary from 2.9 to 8.6 percent, but four of the five countries expect unemployment to fall further, according to the Nordic Economic Outlook 2017.
What does a stint in jail mean for getting a job?
A new study compares employment of previous inmates in four Nordic countries up until five years after their release. The aim has been to see whether former inmates in certain countries are more successful in finding work, and whether this is a result of the work of the correctional services or labour market measures.
Lack of positive expectations an obstacle when young people with psychological problems seek work
“I was furious over the way I was treated in school when I told the teachers that I was mentally ill. The entire school system reacted by completely removing any demands on me. Any expectations of me achieving anything at all, and succeeding with anything, completely disappeared,” says Adrian Lorentsson.
OECD on Finland: Easy to get another job
Unemployment is high at over eight percent. But it is relatively easy to get another equivalent job. That is often forgotten in Finland. Thank the level of education for that! This is how leading daily Helsingin Sanomat comments the OECD’s fresh country report.
ILO: The future labour market in dire straits, time for action
There is trouble ahead for the future labour market: global growth is falling, jobs are disappearing, employment contracts are changing, inequality is on the rise and the middle classes are no longer growing. But not everything points in a negative direction, and according to Finland’s Minister of Justice and Employment we can influence developments.
”Trade unions must organise people working though platforms”
The sharing economy represents a challenge to the labour market as we know it. In the face of this development, the Swedish trade union Unionen has just entered an agreement with German IG Metall. The aim is to find tools for how to organise the growing part of the labour force which works through online platforms.
The core idea of labour law is under threat
The core idea of labour law is to protect the weaker party in an employment relation. This is increasingly under attack from market-led thinking where the main aim is to create opportunities for everyone to get a job.
When the welfare state falls short: Is social entrepreneurship the solution?
Social entrepreneurship and social innovation could help develop the Nordic welfare models, says Norway’s Minister of Labour and Social Inclusion Anniken Hauglie. These are issues she would like to promote when Norway takes on the presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers in 2017.
Finland’s changing labour market
Finland is struggling to emerge from the economic crisis, and it is being felt in the labour market. Only one in ten Finns believe the situation will improve this year. Nearly half of them believe things will get worse, according to a working life barometre from the Finnish Ministry of Employment and the Economy.
Opening the labour market for vulnerable citizens
One hour’s work a week is better than nothing. That is the thinking behind the major drive in recent years to get vulnerable Danes into the labour market. New research shows businesses are ready to create small jobs for vulnerable groups.
Nordregio: Young Icelanders shy away from traditional occupations
Icelandic youths are not interested in a future career in agriculture or fisheries. The only animals they will consider looking after in the future are pets. They would rather become coaches or work in the fitness sector, according to a fresh study from Nordregio which has mapped the future perspectives of young people in the Arctic.
Youth unemployment at the Economic Forum: how to solve it?
What is needed to make sure young people can find a proper job, allowing them to make a decent living? Youth unemployment hits the Nordic countries and other European countries in different ways, but it remains a major challenge for all of them. Is the youth guarantee the solution? What is the answer?
Jari Lindström: The Minister of Employment who switched sides
A few years ago Jari Lindström was an unemployed paper mill worker in an industrial town with no future. Today he is Minister of Justice and Employment in the Finnish government planning considerable benefit cuts. Lindström has been forced to defend decisions he was fighting against not long ago.
Labour market and gender: tough challenges for Finland’s new government
Negotiations to form a new government in Finland are over and the new government ministers in the three party coalition are ready to start the job of lifting the country out of the economic crisis. For the past ten years there has been plenty of political activity but the results have not materialised. Labour market reform is one of the most difficult issues.
New comparative Nordic research measures adult competencies
For the first time ever there is a Nordic version of the OECD’s Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies, PIAAC. PIAAC was first published in 2013. The survey comprises comparative data from 24 countries.
Numeracy, not literacy, most important in working life
Numeracy is more important for participating in working life than previously thought. An OECD assessment of adult competencies shows that being bad at maths increases the risk of unemployment and influences wage levels.
An eye for the individual
How do you help young people who are loosing their footing as they enter adulthood? How do you motivate youths who are not in education, employment or training find the right track to their future? These were key questions when the Nordic countries recently discussed how to fight youth unemployment.
Building bridges to education helps youths move forward
Denmark has had success supporting marginalised youths to make sure they get an education. Mentor support, teaching and help finding apprenticeships makes the difficult transition into studies and work easier.
A bridge to education across Denmark
The Danish project of building bridges to education for marginalised youths has proved so promising that it is now being rolled out across the whole of Denmark on a permanent basis.
Motivation key to get marginalised youths into education
Measures aimed at helping young people into jobs and education should support the youths’ own inner motivation. To do that you need to realise that young, marginalised people are very different from each other, says a Danish youth researcher and author of a new book on motivation.
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