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. Goverments too are on the alert. Welfare states are dependent on enough workers to keep ticking over.
Chasing nurses and sailors - Norway's ethical dilemma of importing workers
The lack of skilled workers is a big problem in Norway, where unemployment has fallen to less than two percent. Healthcare and shipping might seem like very different sectors, yet both are trying to attract foreign workers.
Denmark is changing tack to attract manpower in the face of record low unemployment figures. The transport sector shows the way.
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.
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.
