Latest news with #Arbetsförmedlingen
Local Sweden
18-07-2025
- Politics
- Local Sweden
Swedish Migration Agency to publish work permit salary limit exemptions
Sweden's Migration Agency will next week publish a list of the jobs which could potentially be exempted from a new salary threshold for work permits, but it stresses that there's little chance of these exemptions coming into force any time soon. Advertisement According to Hanna Geurtsen, deputy head of the Migration Agency's new work permit "special focus area", the list will be based on another list of 152 job titles provided in a memo to the agency from the Swedish Public Employment Service (Arbetsförmedlingen) on June 1st. "We will have a list, but it will not be 'the list of exemptions'," Geurtsen stressed. "It will instead be part of the underlying information and reasoning that the government needs to take into consideration if they want to proceed with this proposal." The list is set to be published by the end of next week, well ahead of the August 1st deadline given by Sweden's then labour and integration minister, Mats Persson, when he requested it in February. In the press release announcing the order, he said that "opportunities for exceptions for professions where there is a shortage" were "of great importance". The Migration Agency has taken the Arbetsförmedlingen list of 152 job titles and then noted down which job titles have in the past been taken by foreign workers in significant numbers; which, such as the police or the military, require Swedish citizenship; and which have in the past been abused by employers or subject to workforce exploitation. Advertisement Arbetsförmedlingen's list in turn whittled down the 429 job titles listed in the Swedish Standard Classification of Occupations (SSYK) system which both pay less than Sweden's median salary and for which employers also have problems recruiting from within Sweden. Geurtsen stressed that because the government had yet to propose the legislation for a future work permit salary threshold with exceptions, the list presented next week could only be advisory. Since a government inquiry into the salary threshold and exemptions was published in February 2024, with consultation responses received in April 2024, the government has for more than a year delayed taking the next step, which would be to submit a draft bill to the Council of Legislation. This means that the date the inquiry envisaged for the higher salary requirement (at least 100 percent of the median salary) and possible exceptions – June 1st – passed without even a draft bill published, let alone one submitted to and voted through by parliament. "What's important to understand here is that there is currently no legislation which would regulate a salary requirement," Geurtsen told The Local. "This list cannot come into force. It doesn't have any legal status until they tell us how they want to legislate. They also need to decide who in the future will have the mandate to decide on the list. We don't have that mandate." In particular, she said, it's important to understand that the exceptions cannot be applied to the current salary threshold, which is set at 80 percent of the median salary, as this is based on different legislation, the försörjningskrav, which concerns the amount the government judges people need to earn to live comfortably. Alongside the list, the Migration Agency will also explain why the order it was given in February has been challenging to fulfil. "Our press release will stress the fact that this task was difficult to execute due to lack of general definitions and a lack of methodology," Geurtsen said. Advertisement The request, she noted, had given no guidance on how to judge what "risk of abuse or workplace exploitation" would be enough to bar a job title from having an exception. Another complication was that Arbetsförmedlingen was asked to provide its list by June 1st, and the median salary was then updated on June 17th. This meant that the list it provided was out of date only 16 days after it was passed to the Migration Agency.
Local Sweden
25-06-2025
- Health
- Local Sweden
FULL LIST: The Swedish jobs with the best chance of finding work right now
Despite an ongoing period of low growth, Swedish employers are crying out for staff in multiple professions, according to new figures. Advertisement A new study by the Public Employment Service (Arbetsförmedlingen) has shown that almost one in three professions (53 of 163) is suffering from a shortage of labour. Employers are particularly struggling to find nurses, electricians and IT professionals (more specifically systemvetare) with the right skill set. There is also a lack of teachers, but demand is expected to fall in coming years as fewer children have been born. On the other hand, an ageing population means that the need for healthcare workers is expected to rise. There is also what the agency describes as a "paradoxical situation" within some professions, such as cleaners, pharmacists and waiters, where there is a need for new staff and a potential supply of labour, but issues matching staff to jobs. This could be due to part-time work, staff not having the right skills, or skilled staff leaving the professions. Many waiters are for example registered as unemployed, the agency said. The study split professions up by region and industry, ranking the chances of finding a job in each one as small, medium or large. There were also a number of professions which were not included due to a lack of data. Advertisement Which professions have the largest chance of finding a job? The biggest chunk of professions in the group with the best chance of finding a job were, perhaps unsurprisingly, roles within healthcare, including everything from vets to physiotherapists, while there were also some less common jobs on the list, like pizza bakers, cantors (church singers) and organists. Here's the full list. Healthcare: Workplace therapists Midwives Biomedical analysts District nurses Physiotherapists Nurses with foundational training Doctors (not including specialists) Operation nurses Opticians Pharmacists Specialist doctors Dental hygienists Dentists Dental nurses Assistant nurses Vets Assistant carers Medical secretaries/healthcare administrators Construction: Construction workers (anläggningsarbetare) with professional diploma Sheet metal workers within building and ventilation, with diploma Civil engineers within building and construction Engineers and technicians within building and construction Painters, with diploma Roofers, with diploma Plumbers, with professional certificate Data/IT: IT operations engineers IT security specialists Software and system developers System analysts and IT architects Sales: Retail salespeople (specifically within boats and motor vehicles) Company salesperson Telephone sales Craft professions: Bakers and confectioners Carpentry (furniture, interior design and specialist carpentry) Hotel, restaurant and hospitality: Bartenders Chefs Head chefs and sous chefs Pizza bakers Restaurant and kitchen assistants Serving staff Industrial production: Car and sheet metal workers CNC and machine operators working with metal Vehicle assembly Painters and industrial painters Electricians and assembly of electronic equipment Welders and gas cutters Beauty and healthcare: Hairdressers Culture, media and design: Cantors (church singers) and organists Nature: Forestry workers Gardeners Science: Chemists Teaching: After school teachers (fritidspedagoger) Preschool teachers Primary school teachers Subject teachers Special education teachers Driving teachers Cleaning and sanitation: Sanitation workers Cleaners Social work: Personal assistants Carers and support assistants Safety work: Firemen Officers in prisons and pre-trial detention centres Security advisers and inspectors Technical work: Electrical engineers and technicians, including civil engineers Civil engineers within electrical power Mechanical engineers and technicians, including civil engineers Transport: Couriers Bus and tram drivers Long-distance truck drivers Truck drivers Taxi drivers Find your next English-language job in Sweden on The Local Jobs.
Local Sweden
10-06-2025
- Business
- Local Sweden
Almost 17,000 summer jobs still available in Sweden
If you're looking for a summer job in Sweden, don't give up just yet – there are still thousands of job openings in everything from the hospitality industry to healthcare. Advertisement 'There are almost 17,000 summer jobs available right now,' Alva Johansson, analyst at the Swedish Public Employment Service (Arbetsförmedlingen), told the TT newswire. A total of 130,314 summer job ads have been posted via the service's job site, Platsbanken, this spring, somewhat fewer than the 133,144 job ads last year. Although hiring for more permanent positions often grinds to a halt during the summer, it can also be an ideal period for breaking into the Swedish labour market. Full-time employees are legally entitled to four consecutive weeks off during June-August, so there are plenty of temporary substitute openings available on top of seasonal work. While many jobs require Swedish, the summer season often offers more opportunities than usual for those with limited Swedish skills. The majority of jobs are found in the healthcare and social services sector, but there are also plenty of openings at for example cafés and restaurants and in cleaning. Even if the summer job does not exactly match your level of experience or future career aspirations in Sweden, it can be an opportunity rather than a step down. In Sweden, seven out of ten jobs are obtained through personal connections, so using the summer to build networks and industry knowledge can be particularly useful for newcomers. Advertisement Seasonal jobs for English-speakers may for example be available in major cities or tourism destinations, where it is more important that you can communicate with international tourists than have fluent Swedish. In the healthcare industry, there may also be opportunities to work as a personal care assistant for someone whose native language you speak. Another option could be to look for entry-level jobs such as a cleaner. Although many foreigners in Sweden need a work permit to work in the country, EU citizens, as well as non-EU citizens here on other permits, such as student permits or permits as accompanying family members, are able to work without needing a work permit first.
