Response to interpellation 2023/24:31 on measures to combat unemployment and discrimination among young people with disabilities
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
The debate concerns measures against unemployment and discrimination of young people with disabilities. L argues that the opportunity to work is a fundamental matter of justice 1 and that the government is working towards strong protection against discrimination 1. L emphasizes the importance of individually designed support, strengthened employer work 1, a growing economy 2 and that school is crucial for young people to be equipped for qualified work tasks 2. L wants to see more efficient processes for young people from adapted upper secondary school 3 and argues that the solution is smoother processes rather than more resources for administration 4. L considers that Arbetsförmedlingen is on the right track 2 5 6. S argues that Arbetsförmedlingen is an obstacle with unacceptably long waiting times 7 and that cuts have reduced the number of specialists 7. S considers that the government lacks a clear plan and concrete goals 8 and that Sweden is becoming poorer under the current government 8.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Arbetsmarknads- och integrationsministern Johan Pehrson (L)
Madam Speaker! Serkan Köse has asked me what measures I intend to take to reduce both discrimination and unemployment among young people with disabilities. Furthermore, Serkan Köse asks what measures I intend to take to improve Arbetsförmedlingen's capacity to identify early and effectively support young people with disabilities in light of the deficiencies identified in a report from Arbetsförmedlingen.
The opportunity for work is fundamental in the effort to break exclusion and strengthen welfare. It is also a matter of justice. Non-discrimination is of utmost importance to ensure that every individual can fully enjoy their human rights.
Discrimination in working life is prohibited according to the Discrimination Act (2008:567) and includes, among other things, disability. The Discrimination Act also sets requirements that all employers shall work preventatively and promote actions to counteract discrimination within an operation and in other ways work for equal rights and opportunities regardless of, among other things, disability.
The Government continues to work for a strong protection against discrimination. Among other things, the work of the Equality Ombudsman and the anti-discrimination agencies contributes to supporting individuals who have been subjected to discrimination and realizing everyone's equal rights. The Government has also appointed a parliamentary committee which has, among other things, been tasked to investigate whether the provisions of the Instrument of Government regarding individuals' fundamental freedoms and rights should be supplemented and a general protection against discrimination added to the constitution. I also want to draw attention to the national goal for disability policy and the implementation of this, which means that the work shall be directed, among other things, towards preventing and countering discrimination.
It is concerning that young people with disabilities are far from the labor market. This can mean challenges in establishing themselves on the labor market and, in the long run, poorer opportunities for self-sufficiency. It is therefore of great importance that young people with disabilities receive individually designed support based on the individual's circumstances and needs. Arbetsförmedlingen is an important actor in this context with its toolbox of measures for job seekers, including measures specifically targeted at persons with disabilities.
To reduce unemployment and give more young people with disabilities the opportunity for work or education, proactive and effective employer engagement is also required. In the regulatory letter for the current year, Arbetsförmedlingen was among other things tasked with strengthening and developing its work with labor market policy interventions and employer contacts.
To ensure that job seekers receive the right intervention at the right time, the government has also tasked Arbetsförmedlingen with ensuring that the labor market policy assessment is accurate and uniform. In addition, job seekers shall be assessed against the range of interventions available to the agency. Arbetsförmedlingen also has a specific mandate to assign persons with disabilities who have been without work for a long period to wage subsidies for development in employment at Samhall.
In summary, purposeful measures and support, the ability to effectively identify disabilities, and effective employer work are required to reduce unemployment and give more young people with disabilities the opportunity for work or education.
I continue to closely follow the developments in the labor market as well as Arbetsförmedlingen's important work for young people with disabilities.
Serkan Köse (S)
Madam Speaker! I thank the Minister for the answer.
Many young people with disabilities desire nothing more than to have a job where they can contribute to society, grow as individuals, and feel independent. But the reality of the Swedish labor market does not reflect these ambitions. Only half of these young people are in work today, and a third report experiences of discrimination. These are figures that clearly show deficient inclusion.
This is not, Madam Speaker, a question of individual failures, but it is about a labor market that not only underperforms in its inclusion mandate but also tends to actively shut out the people who need access to the labor market the most. The alarming figures that testify to low employment and high unemployment among young people with disabilities are a symptom of profound structural problems that need to be addressed.
Arbetsförmedlingens reports highlight the difficulties that young people with disabilities face. They face greater challenges than other young people in the labor market. They often face long periods of unemployment and a tough struggle to find work that does not require economic subsidies. It is therefore of the utmost importance to create changes that can break down these barriers and open up the labor market so that all young people, regardless of functional ability, have the same chances to succeed.
In order for the authority to succeed in its mission to safeguard these persons' competence, it must have sufficient resources and staff. The staff must be able to offer the intensive and often decisive support that is required. In other words, long-term planning conditions are required for Arbetsförmedlingen, not further budget cuts.
The personal and knowledgeable support for people with disabilities cannot, Madam Speaker, be replaced by digitalization because it is about gaining a profound understanding of the individual in order to be able to provide the right support.
You have a responsibility, Johan Pehrson, to ensure that all young people, regardless of functional variations, are offered the same opportunities in the labor market. You also have a responsibility to ensure that Arbetsförmedlingen has the resources required so that every young person with a disability receives the personally adapted support needed to enter the labor market.
At the same time, Madam Speaker, cooperation with employers is important to create more inclusive work environments. It is about concrete measures such as educational initiatives for employers, guidelines for workplace adaptation and follow-up, and incentives for employers who actively work to include persons with disabilities.
Therefore, I ask, Johan Pehrson: How is the Arbetsförmedlingen to be strengthened so that it can provide better support to young people with disabilities? What initiatives does the government have for cooperation between government, the business sector, and civil society for a more inclusive labor market?
Jonathan Svensson (S)
Madam Speaker! I would like to begin by thanking Serkan Köse for raising an important discussion about young people with disabilities and their often quite complicated position on the labor market.
One could say that young people with disabilities are a doubly disadvantaged group in the labor market. For one thing, one is young, with all the challenges that entails when it comes to entering the labor market. It is clear in the statistics that young people over time constantly remain at a significantly higher unemployment level than the rest of the population. There are, of course, reasonable explanations for parts of the gap between young people and the rest of the population, but it can still be said that young people are structurally disadvantaged.
Secondly, one is doubly disadvantaged if one has a disability. Generally speaking, it can be said that young people with one or more disabilities face specific challenges in the labor market. This can involve a lack of accessibility, discrimination, or prejudices.
As my party colleague described, it is only just over half of all young people with disabilities who have gainful employment. Not having a job and a livelihood is something that risks placing these young people in long-term exclusion, with all the consequences that entails. It is deeply harmful for society as a whole but also for the individual. It is not worthy of our modern society.
When we can so clearly point to a group that is obviously doubly disadvantaged, it is our common society's responsibility to ensure that a change is achieved. Arbetsförmedlingen is a completely central authority in that work. There, they have many of the tools required to support these people in their path into working life.
Madam Speaker! My party colleague asked a question to the Minister in his interpellation. Among other things, he asks what measures the Minister can take to improve the possibility for Arbetsförmedlingen to support these people with disabilities. In the Minister's answer to the question, there is a part I can agree with. The Minister mentions purposeful measures, support, capacity to identify disabilities, and Arbetsförmedlingen's central role in this work.
Madam Speaker! These are good things, but there is a fundamental problem: Words and actions do not always align. In the government's budget bill for 2024, Arbetsförmedlingen does not receive even close to the appropriations the agency itself has assessed as necessary to fulfill its mandate. At the same time, the Minister presented at a press conference just the other day that unemployment is on the rise. This means that the agency will have to make prioritizations, and it may be the case that those we are discussing today are prioritized out and fall between the chairs.
I therefore want to ask the Minister how he intends to ensure that Arbetsförmedlingen truly has the possibility to focus on the individuals we are discussing in today's debate, especially when the budget that the agency receives is insufficient.
Camilla Mårtensen (L)
Madam Speaker! Thank you, all members who are here, for that we are raising this very important issue!
It is an important liberal principle that everyone who has the opportunity to work should be able to get a job. It is also an important principle for us to manage the skills shortage that exists in Sweden. When I am out and speaking with the business community, the discussion often concerns that those processes must be streamlined.
I want to highlight an ESF project called Samstart. There is one in Malmö, among others. There, it already begins with students in what was previously called the gymnasiesärskolan. I have forgotten what the new term is, but I should naturally use it.
(Minister for Employment and Integration JOHAN PEHRSON (L): Adapted upper secondary school.)
Thank you, Minister! Adapted upper secondary school, I mean.
The important thing in the project is that there is a collaboration with Arbetsförmedlingen, so that these students do not have to wait for the coding when they have finished their schooling and that there are resources to start working with them directly.
There is often a pause after one has completed adapted upper secondary school to get coding, and there is a need for an efficiency improvement there. Many already have relationships with the business sector via the school. It is primarily about streamlining the processes that exist. I would have liked to see that in the future we get that type of cooperation between the municipality and adapted upper secondary school in significantly more places than today.
Arbetsmarknads- och integrationsministern Johan Pehrson (L)
Madam Speaker! It is very important that we use the resources that people in Sweden have worked for and which we collect in taxes in an efficient way. We must use the over 90 billion that we take from the citizens – from spectators in the stands, civil servants, and members of Parliament – in a wise way. I believe we can all agree on that. But then one must turn over every krona. That is why we are careful when we increase support to Arbetsförmedlingen in these difficult times. But we shall not only do this.
The overall economic policy aims to get Sweden back into a stronger economic situation. We must beat down inflation and manage what lies like a large black shroud over the country Sweden, that is to say that investments are being held back, which means we can see that unemployment, which we have accounted for, unfortunately increases slightly, albeit with a clear lag. We said that this would happen sooner or later, and now it is later. We can see a trend break.
We take this very seriously, because in the wake of unemployment, naturally, it is not only pain for individuals and families that follows. It is about people who previously went to work but no longer do so and about children who see their parents not going to work - people with or without disabilities.
What the interpellants put forward, that those who are most vulnerable risk being hit hardest, is entirely correct. But an economy that grows also means that people who are further away from the labor market can more easily get jobs. That is therefore the most important labor market policy measure.
Then Member Camilla Mårtensen was present on the importance of a schooling that makes one equipped. If misfortune occurs early in life or is present from the very beginning, the school is indeed completely decisive for one to be equipped for as qualified work tasks as possible on the labor market.
We look forward very much to the EFS-supported projects that are now being carried out in various places to get the situation of young people in order. But it is not only young people with disabilities who are in unemployment.
What do we do, people ask. It appears from regulatory letters and instructions and from the budget that the Riksdag has received from the government and will treat here in the chamber. In addition, which I hope the members are aware of, we have given a mandate to Statskontoret to ensure that we have an optimal staffing of Arbetsförmedlingen throughout the country. It is about reducing the time it takes to get a classification and get the right to support because one has a functional variation. All of this is central.
I have not met anyone at Arbetsförmedlingen who says anything other than that it takes time to change a situation at Arbetsförmedlingen that has been quite tough during the last mandate period. But one is on the right track. They get the support they need, and they are eager to help people and shorten the time it takes to, for example, get support as a person with a disability.
Serkan Köse (S)
Madam Speaker! Thank you again for the answer, Minister! Many young people with disabilities dream of having a job where they can contribute to society and develop personally, but in reality, only half of these young people are employed, and a third experience discrimination. This grim reality reflects a labor market that has not only failed to be inclusive but also excludes very many young people.
Madam Speaker! This exclusion is not an isolated incident but rather part of a larger pattern. The Swedish Public Employment Service's bureaucratic machinery, which should be a helping hand, often instead seems to become an obstacle.
One of the most striking examples is the unacceptably long waiting time for what is called a disability code. It is a wait that can extend over a year just to even get a chance to start receiving support. What other group in our society would accept such a delay of their opportunities for livelihood? What other group would find it acceptable that their pursuit of independence and dignity is hindered by the inertia of bureaucracy?
Madam Speaker! When these young people finally receive their code, they are met by the next barrier. The cuts implemented by the right-wing parties within the labor market policy have drastically, by 40 percent, reduced the number of specialists at Arbetsförmedlingen. Four out of ten occupational therapists, audiologists, vision specialists, psychologists, social consultants, and so on have disappeared from Arbetsförmedlingen, and their expertise is invaluable for persons with disabilities who are trying to establish themselves in the labor market.
And the problems do not end there. Even when the possibility of an employment contract with a wage subsidy approaches, new bottlenecks arise in the form of an understaffed administration. This leads to people with disabilities being left out, not due to a lack of will or ability, but due to a system that is no longer able to place them in work or internships.
The change of Arbetsförmedlingen and the lack of specialized case officers has resulted in that the agency is no longer able to assign and place job seekers with disabilities in work training, internships, or jobs. We can also observe that at Samhall, the places are vacant.
Furthermore, the money that Arbetsförmedlingen receives for wage subsidies is not fully utilized, which results in money that could have helped being returned to the state. It is not okay. Companies and organizations that have previously been successful in integrating people with disabilities into the working life are now receiving fewer resources and opportunities to do just that.
Madam Speaker! A work line worthy of its name must include people with disabilities. It is not acceptable that only half of people with disabilities are employed. People with disabilities both can and want to work but are not given the conditions required.
School figures show that only one in ten had a job in the autumn after having left adapted upper secondary school. Even worse: one in three young people neither worked, studied, nor had daily activities. That one in ten young people from adapted upper secondary school, or gymnasiesärskolan as we call it, does not have a job and one in three neither works nor studies is a betrayal of these individuals and a failure for the entire society.
In a time when we have an aging population, a labor shortage – which Camilla Mårtensen also highlighted – and economic transition, we must value the skills that people with disabilities possess. These young people deserve a system that supports them. We shall build bridges, not barriers.
Jonathan Svensson (S)
Madam Speaker! I note that the Minister cannot quite describe how Arbetsförmedlingen is to make its resources suffice for precisely those people we are discussing today. It is very regrettable, especially since this is such an urgent issue that affects very many people here in the country. If society does not do more for these people, it is a great loss for our society and for the individual individuals who risk falling into exclusion.
The Minister informed the other day about the labor market situation. Unemployment is on the rise, and the group we are discussing today is a group that may take an extra hard hit in today's situation. It is clear that the government lacks a clear plan to handle the problems we are discussing today, but also our other societal problems.
The Minister for Employment refers to the fact that inflation needs to be hammered down to get the economy moving, and yes, that is a very important issue. We must get inflation down. These are genuine problems that must be handled, but it cannot mean that the government should give a walkover on all other policy areas.
One could liken Sweden's government to a football team that doesn't quite understand how a league works. Government FC puts all its focus on the first match – to beat down inflation – but leaves walkovers on all other matches, and Madam Speaker, if you leave walkovers on all matches, you win no leagues.
Madam Speaker! The problem with the Government FC is that Sweden is not a football team but the team that is intended to lead and govern this country, and when the government walks over on labor market policy, healthcare, school, and the climate, we are all affected. Some are affected harder than others. If you have a high salary, you manage better. If you are young and have a disability, you manage worse with the government's policy.
Sweden is becoming poorer and more dangerous with every day that passes with this government. I know that Sweden can do so much better than it does today.
Camilla Mårtensen (L)
Madam Speaker! Serkan Köse pointed out that the individual wants to enter the workforce. That is absolutely correct. Individuals need sensible, good, and developing occupations and jobs. But there is a larger perspective as well. This is a group that is in demand by the business sector, and with the skills shortage we have, we need this group.
So, it is about finding compensatory support for many people. But it can hardly be about too few resources for administration within Arbetsförmedlingen. I find it very difficult to see that. On the contrary, it is about the fact that we must have smoother processes, clearer objectives, and closer cooperation with employers, and actually be able to solve the problems both faster and more individually for those persons.
I do not think the answer to that is more resources for administration. I believe and hope that the answer is that the government will in the future sharpen its objectives and set clear targets beyond what has already been done. It is a task that I think aligns well with the Liberals' own party policy and the labor market policy that we pursue.
Arbetsmarknads- och integrationsministern Johan Pehrson (L)
Madam Speaker! I like that thing with law and football. Sweden is a fantastic country, and one could see the politics that Jonathan Svensson is involved in - a bit like a football match.
So, it is the case that for eight years, Jonathan Svensson, Serkan Köse and Magdalena Andersson were head coaches, team leaders, right-backs, left-backs, wing-backs and anchors in Sweden. One had responsibility for Arbetsförmedlingen. One had responsibility for the labor market policy. I know that one wanted well. I have never met a single social democrat who does not want well. But one must build on the driving forces that are so important.
One must build on a basic education. That is why the government invests in education. That is why we invest in close practical experience and subsidized employment that help people toward self-sufficiency, something that is important to be able to have own power over one's life.
It is a bit nice to hear that one does not want to take responsibility for being the captain of the football team Sweden for eight years. Serkan Köse runs out across the arena and up onto the stands and says that it was someone else who steered Sweden. No, it was Serkan Köse! It was a social democratic head coach, and it was a social democratic coach. Everything was social democratic.
Now we stand here. I share the view that the bureaucracy must be reduced and the efficiency increased in Arbetsförmedlingen. We are now ensuring that the focus is on adult education. We are working with the Samstart project, which we have talked about. We ensure that Försäkringskassan has the mandate to also support this group from its side and to interact and cooperate with Arbetsförmedlingen.
We received a new instruction - the baseline, the basic training - for Arbetsförmedlingen. The mission is focused on Arbetsförmedlingen, and we have also recently put the establishment jobs in place that the previous management of the national team Sweden did not get in place. Now those jobs are in place. We have a new board for Arbetsförmedlingen. Why then? Yes, because it must focus on a greater responsibility, so that it at least gets up what Serkan Köse so rightly demands, that is, better efficiency, greater chances and opportunities for people with disabilities to get into work with support or if it is just a question of an adaptation of the workplace. Which is very important for working.
The work line is among the finest things Sweden has. There are now 467,000 unemployed in Sweden. We are making major efforts to tighten, change, and modernize the regulatory framework for labor immigration. We are doing everything we can to equip and match, with different actors who help Arbetsförmedlingen and with Arbetsförmedlingen, so that 155,000 vacant jobs shall be filled with people in Sweden who are unemployed. But there is an education gap, and it is that which we, with education as a tool, are trying to bridge.
Serkan Köse (S)
Madam Speaker! For those who do not know, it is Johan Pehrson who has been the team leader and team captain for the new team for a year. I know for a fact that the team leader and team captain Johan Pehrson has so far not presented a single bill that addresses the problems and challenges that we have talked about today. Johan Pehrson talks about everything except what we are talking about today.
When it comes to the regulatory letter for 2023, Johan Pehrson, people with disabilities are not mentioned in the goals, even though these constitute a significant proportion of the workforce while the employment rate is significantly lower than for the rest of the population.
In this context, I would like to ask Johan Pehrson whether the regulatory letter for next year for Arbetsförmedlingen will address the tangible problems with the waiting time for the disability code, the lack of specialized expertise, and the slow processing of wage subsidies. What does the government intend to do concretely to ensure that persons with disabilities are not only included in our society but can also contribute fully to the labor market?
Madam Speaker! To improve the situation, it is required that the government, in next year's regulatory letter, presents concrete goals for how persons with disabilities shall be included in the labor market and how their employment can be increased. This is also a strong wish from the collective disability rights movement in Sweden, which has also conveyed this in a letter to the government.
It is also important, Madam Speaker, that Arbetsförmedlingen is tasked with shortening the time it takes to register a disability code and ensuring access to special expertise. But that is not enough. We must strengthen the support to employers and create cooperation with social enterprises and civil society to broaden the path into the labor market for more people. We also see a need for input from state agencies. Since 2016, they have been tasked with offering internship placements for persons with disabilities, with a goal of 1,000 placements per year. It is a goal that has not been reached. The National Audit Office's follow-up shows a significant deficiency. Only 260 internship placements have been offered, and even fewer have been appointed.
It is time, Johan Pehrson, to take responsibility. Thank you for the debate!
Arbetsmarknads- och integrationsministern Johan Pehrson (L)
Madam Speaker! I need to remind the former captain of the football team Sweden, Serkan Köse, that there is a constitution in Sweden that regulates the oversight power exercised against the government, the one that is now being exercised by Serkan Köse against Johan Pehrson. It is about looking at what the government does.
The government presents its policy in the form of budgets and regulations, and I can say that the Swedish labor market is anything but over-regulated. We govern with budgets and regulations, and sometimes larger bills are submitted. We are working for an even more efficient and more legally secure unemployment insurance.
In this area, it is important to ensure that Arbetsförmedlingen is given a chance to become more efficient. That is their mission. They have had a difficult leadership for many years. We have assigned a mandate to Statskontoret to review how the internal governance can be improved after the previous management, how business development and the follow-up of the operations can be improved, and also how the government's governance can become better. It is quite true that I have the responsibility now because the previous management did not take responsibility.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.