Response to interpellation 2023/24:675 on regional differences in youth unemployment
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
L believes that restrained fiscal policy is the most important measure against youth unemployment 1 and that high-quality education is crucial for employability 1. L argues that parents are responsible for children's expectations 2 and that lower marginal taxes attract competence 3. L claims that increased taxes for education and banks harm growth 3 and that Arbetsförmedlingen follows its mandates 4. S argues that the government ignores regional differences 5 and that Arbetsförmedlingen has been weakened by savings 5 6 7. S criticizes that tax cuts do not solve youth unemployment 8 and that the government's budgets have led to layoffs 9. S prioritizes household finances over the profits of the big banks 9.
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 and the government intend to take in view of the increasing youth unemployment and the regional differences.
The government has taken a number of measures and is focused on pushing back unemployment. The most important measure is to prioritize the fight against inflation through a restrained fiscal policy. Inflation is largely the root of the economic situation that Sweden finds itself in, and effective inflation fighting is necessary to strengthen Sweden's economy. It is a prerequisite for a favorable economic development for both households and companies.
Everyone who can work shall do so. The Government continues the work to re-establish the work principle. It shall pay to move from benefits to jobs, and as part of this, the job tax credit for low- and middle-income earners has, among other things, been strengthened. High requirements shall be set for those seeking jobs, combined with the fact that the unemployed are offered the right support and interventions. Furthermore, there shall also be clear activity requirements to receive benefits.
The situation on the labor market has deteriorated, and unemployment is expected to increase during 2024. Young people aged 16-24 who have been unemployed and registered with Arbetsförmedlingen for at least three months during a four-month period can be offered a place in the job guarantee for young people. Within the program, different types of interventions and support are offered, for example work placements, work training, study and career guidance, and labor market training.
The increased unemployment is judged to reduce young people's opportunities to find work. The possibility of creating summer jobs for young people in municipalities with high unemployment should therefore be strengthened. The jobs shall be available to apply for for all young people in the relevant age group in these municipalities.
The single most important contribution for young people to establish themselves in the labor market in the long term is education. High-quality education strengthens individuals' opportunities to establish themselves in the labor market and makes it possible to take advantage of everyone's competence.
The investments made in multiple places both within the university colleges and the vocational adult education improve access to education so that more people can quickly enter the workforce. In accordance with the budget bill for 2024, funds corresponding to 19,500 training places were added to regional vocational adult education and the university colleges, and in the 2024 supplementary budget, an additional 167 million kronor is proposed for 2,000 more training places in regional vocational adult education. The investments are crucial both for Sweden's competitiveness and for improving individuals' opportunities to obtain a job.
Arbetsförmedlingen has also received a continued mandate in this year's regulatory letter to increase geographical and occupational mobility among the unemployed. Those who are without work must be prepared to undertake an education, retrain, or seek a job in another municipality.
There are, and have long been, regional differences in youth unemployment. Based on the goals and direction of the labor market policy, it is the responsibility of Arbetsförmedlingen to allocate resources regionally and locally based on the job seekers' needs and the situation in the labor market.
The government has a good basis to address youth unemployment, and I will continue to closely follow the issue.
Serkan Köse (S)
Madam Speaker! Thank you, Minister Johan Pehrson, for the answer!
We cannot turn a blind eye to the increasingly worrying trend of rising youth unemployment and growing regional differences in the labor market. According to the latest figures from Arbetsförmedlingen, over 43,000 young people between 18 and 24 years old were unemployed at the end of February, an increase from the previous year. This figure reflects the effects of the economic crisis particularly among young people with temporary employment and limited work experience.
The regional differences are palpable. Unemployment ranges from 5.2 percent in Västerbotten to 12.9 percent in Gävleborg. It is deeply worrying that the government seems to ignore these problems. Youth flexibility can be an asset when the economy recovers, but active measures are required now to prevent long-term damage to young people's career opportunities.
It is particularly concerning that we have a government that seems to have its head in the sand and does not want to acknowledge the challenges young people face today in the Swedish labor market. My concern is further heightened by the fact that these issues are managed by the Liberals, a party that does not seem to prioritize youth unemployment as much as other parties do.
I searched on the Liberals' website to get information on how the party wants to combat youth unemployment but unfortunately received no hits, which suggests a lack of commitment to these issues. Instead, we can see a lowering of ambition and a reduction of resources in labor market policy, which has weakened Arbetsförmedlingen's ability to support unemployed youth and particularly youth with limited experience.
Madam Speaker! This is a concern that the agency's new Director General has also raised. More resources have recently been requested from Johan Pehrson in order to be able to fulfill its goals and, not least, its mandate.
We also see how the restrictions within the construction sector are now hitting young people, which is another sign of the acute situation. There is a real risk that we will lose an entire generation of young people who cannot get jobs or apprenticeships within the construction sector.
Despite these alarming conditions, Johan Persson's government has so far not presented any measures or proposals on how to reduce either youth unemployment or unemployment. When we compare ourselves with Europe, Madam Speaker, we can state that Sweden is second worst after Spain. We have a youth unemployment rate that stands at 24.2 percent in March, which is worrying, and it should also worry the Minister for Employment.
I believe it is time for Johan Pehrson to act, not only by fighting inflation - as he speaks of in his response, and that we shall do - but by attacking the core of the unemployment problem. So far, Johan Pehrson has not presented any reforms. The list of propositions is still empty despite Johan Pehrson saying in his response that the government has taken measures to push back unemployment.
Madam Speaker! This is interesting because unemployment has actually not decreased. At the end of March, more than 354,000 people were registered as unemployed, an increase of more than 20,000 people compared to the previous year.
My question to Johan Pehrson is therefore: How has Johan Pehrson managed to push down youth unemployment when the statistics from Arbetsförmedlingen show the opposite?
Jonathan Svensson (S)
Madam Speaker! Thanks to Serkan Köse for raising such an urgent and important issue in this interpellation debate!
It is very clear that the unemployment level varies between and within both regions and different parts of the population. One group that stands out in particular is precisely the group of young people. It is a group that for a long time has been at a significantly higher unemployment level than the rest of the population. Young people are often the group that is affected earliest by cyclical changes, and when unemployment is already at a significantly higher level than among the rest of the population, changes in the economy hit this rather sensitive group significantly harder.
As my colleague describes, there is also a geographical dimension to youth unemployment. From Arbetsförmedlingen's statistics, it can be clearly read that it is primarily in the more southern parts of the country, in Western Sweden and in the Stockholm region, that youth unemployment is increasing the most and at a significantly higher rate than among the unemployed in general. In other parts of the country, in Central Sweden and in the more northern parts of the country, this same dramatic development has not occurred, at least not yet.
My colleague also described how approximately 43,000 young people in the 18-24 age group are unemployed. That group will most likely continue to grow during the year as the economy slows down and more and more companies and parts of the public sector lay off workers. It is not a sustainable situation. Many of the young people risk being pushed out of the labor market and ending up in social exclusion with all the challenges that it entails.
In my interpellation, my colleague Serkan Köse asked a concrete question, namely what measures the government intends to take. As usual, the minister's answer echoed relatively hollowly. To a large extent, the answer consists of things that have already been implemented or are underway this year. The minister mentioned things such as the fight against inflation, similar to in practice all other interpellation debates in the chamber since he became minister. In addition to inflation, it concerns programs at Arbetsförmedlingen that already exist and small investments in the education sector that have already been implemented.
The only part of the Minister's response that actually raises the regional aspect of my colleague's question is about a paragraph long, and it is actually a statement that there are regional differences in youth unemployment, that they have existed for a long time, and that they are Arbetsförmedlingen's problem to solve.
Madam Speaker! I believe the House deserves a better answer than that it has always looked like that and that it is up to Arbetsförmedlingen to handle. Of course, I and the House understand that the government governs the country through regulatory letters and so on, but a more developed answer than that should still be possible. This applies particularly when the main key in the Minister's answer is Arbetsförmedlingen. The agency is once again hit this year by the government's savings, while savings are also being made on the rest of the active labor market policy. In this way, Arbetsförmedlingen will find it even more difficult to deliver on its mandate.
Therefore, I think I will give the Minister another chance to develop his reasoning. Why does he believe the situation on the labor market looks the way it does for young people? Why is there a regional aspect? Answer my colleague's question about what measures the government intends to take given the regional differences in youth unemployment!
Arbetsmarknads- och integrationsministern Johan Pehrson (L)
Madam Speaker! Every young person who leaves school should, after completing their schooling, continue their studies, work, travel, or do something fun. But first, in that case, one must work and earn their own money. It is very important.
There is no other policy to address youth unemployment than to ensure that more young people pass school, complete an education, practical or theoretical at the upper secondary level, which ensures that they enter the workforce and are employable. That is the greatest challenge.
If Serkan Köse likes to google at night, he should google "education youth read-write-arithmetic competence". Then he will find information about removing the digital slavery plantations where people sink into dark rabbit holes and ruin their lives by watching TikTok. Absolutely nothing happens there. Ensuring that they learn to read, count, and write is policy so that young people become employable so that they can realize their own small dreams. That is the path we take.
We know that not everyone has had that opportunity. Many have attended a school that has set too low requirements with too much fluff pedagogy. They may not have had the support from home. Many young people, regardless of where they come from, are shaped by what expectations and what support they have at home. It is the adults, the parents, who have the responsibility for their children.
Arbetsförmedlingen has specific measures for young people, but my ambition is that as few young people as possible should end up there. Those who do come to Arbetsförmedlingen receive measures via the guarantees.
For the young, the connection to labor market entities in the municipalities is extensive. They have an increasingly close cooperation, and we do everything we can to tighten the cooperation even further. The municipalities and Arbetsförmedlingen shall work together, and obstacles to information exchange shall be removed. They shall use common public resources correctly. But this always comes back to a single track, namely education. There is no other way than for one to be sufficiently competent or have certain basic abilities and then the right attitude so that one can become employable, regardless of whether it is a question of a subsidized employment or a direct employment.
Sweden's glass factories and Sweden's battery factories are crying out for young and capable people who want to work or people who want to work in the companies that still have vacancies today – but they cannot be hired because they have too little formal education. There is really no other way forward.
In the question regarding the areas that are particularly vulnerable, it is even more important to work closely. I was in Gävleborg recently, and there I looked at how they work with the project at the labor market unit. But it is not the case that it is only young people who have great challenges. Here there can be adults from another country, and they speak almost no Swedish or have no or insufficient education from any country on the globe. Then there are great challenges for them to get into work. The way is via companies that, with the help of support, can employ these people. I will return to this.
Serkan Köse (S)
Madam Speaker! I thank the Minister for the contribution. There was no answer to the questions, and there was no answer as to how one intends to tackle the challenges.
The Minister complains about TikTok, but the problems are deeper than that. I mentioned that today there are many thousands of unemployed young people on the Swedish labor market. But it is not possible to discuss youth unemployment without highlighting the situation for young people with disabilities. It is surprising that the Minister, in his answer, said nothing about what the situation for young people with disabilities looks like on the labor market.
Statistics Sweden's figures show that only half of people with disabilities are employed. For those with reduced work capacity, the figure is even lower, only 44 percent. This we should compare with the employment rate of 81 percent for the rest of the population.
Madam Speaker! This challenge is even greater for persons with housing under the Act on Support and Service for Some Disabled, that is LSS. There, only 3-4 percent are employed.
Furthermore, statistics from Skolverket show that only one in ten young people who leave adapted upper secondary school has a job the following autumn. To that, we can add that it is alarming that every third young person neither works, studies, nor participates in daily activities.
Today, according to the Agency for Youth and Civil Society, there are 140,000 young people outside both the labor market and the education system. This situation can lead to long-term exclusion and seriously affect young people's mental health and faith in the future. There were no words on this in the government's response.
Madam Speaker! We face great societal challenges, for example, an aging population and a constant economic transition. Therefore, it is important that we can include and value all available skills, including those of people with disabilities. Despite this, the budget announced by the government for the Agency for Youth and Civil Society Issues shows that the issues are not being taken seriously. State Secretary Johan Pehrson's government allocates 4 million kronor to address these profound problems in the supplementary budget.
Madam Speaker! Arbetsförmedlingen's reports show time and again that young people with disabilities face obstacles. They have difficulty finding work, and therefore I urge the government to also look into these issues.
Madam Speaker! We can observe that the cuts implemented under Johan Pehrson's leadership have reduced the number of specialists, occupational therapists, and psychologists, and they are important for young people with disabilities who are trying to establish themselves in the labor market.
We can also observe that the lack of specialists within Arbetsförmedlingen means that much of the wage subsidy money cannot be used. That money goes back to the state.
Madam Speaker! It is important that the resources for Arbetsförmedlingen are secured so that one can help young people with disabilities and give them the support they need. It requires a reinforcement of Arbetsförmedlingen's work in cooperation with municipalities and other employers.
Once again back to the question. When Johan Pehrson sees the statistics and the situation for young people today, what is the Minister's answer? How does the Minister intend to act? What is the Minister's answer to all those young people who are now sitting at home watching this debate? What can they count on for support? What is the government's plan, ideas, vision? Is there anything?
Jonathan Svensson (S)
Madam Speaker! Thank you to the Minister for his answer!
I believe the Minister spent the first half of his speech discussing the importance of the Swedish education system and the value of learning to read, write, and count. Despite that, the budget echoes relatively empty when it comes to investments in the education sector. There is an investment in the supplementary budget, but it is not very extensive considering the needs that exist in the Swedish education sector.
In addition to everything already mentioned in this debate, there is a part of the Minister's first response that we have not yet addressed and which leaves me somewhat puzzled. It concerns the so-called restoration of the work line. To promote it, the Minister argues, an enhancement of the so-called job tax credit for low- and middle-income earners has been made.
Yes, if a tax cut is implemented with the expressed purpose of supporting families who are struggling to make ends meet, that is perhaps something that can be discussed politically. But in the answer, the Minister of State presents this tax cut as some kind of labor market policy measure that would somehow lead to the rising youth unemployment suddenly decreasing.
In the context found in the answer, it seems that the measure of a tax cut in the form of an enhanced earned income tax credit is the government's main key to addressing the rising youth unemployment.
Madam Speaker! I actually don't quite understand this. If there are no jobs to be had or if one lacks the prerequisites to take a job, how is a tax cut for those who already have a job going to somehow magically make it so that the person who doesn't have a job gets a job?
How can a tax cut be the solution to youth unemployment, when it can almost always be read about how young people apply for job after job in different industries but still do not get any job? At most, perhaps they get a part-time position with uncertain access to working hours.
How is a tax cut for those who are already working going to mean that those who are not working get a job, Madam Speaker? I would like to hear the Minister's answer to that.
Arbetsmarknads- och integrationsministern Johan Pehrson (L)
Madam Speaker! Jonathan Svensson is absolutely right there. If you lower the tax, which the Social Democrats have agreed to and consider important, it is clear that it alone does not make any decisive difference for young people who are unemployed.
But I must appeal to parts of the Social Democratic bench here, to my skilled and highly valued political colleagues from the Committee on Employment. It doesn't take rocket science to agree that a completed upper secondary education leads to increased chances of taking some of the at least 100,000 jobs that are available today. One cannot take all those jobs after completing upper secondary school, but the opportunities increase significantly.
I am committed to youth unemployment, because there is nothing that hinders a young person's step out into life as much as unemployment. Liberation from perhaps difficult, nagging parents and the realization of small and large dreams requires that one obtains a job and self-sufficiency. On that, we are in complete agreement.
I still think I have to go back to this with taxes. The only thing the Social Democrats are for is that there should be higher taxes on education. The more one educates oneself, the higher the taxes should be.
It is the marginal taxes that you seem to think should be as high as possible. You have lowered the marginal taxes year after year after year, and that is because the rocket research to and from reaches the Social Democrats. Then you realize that low marginal taxes are something valuable, because it draws people who want to work from all over the world to Sweden. It creates new companies that grow and lead to jobs in all segments, and it makes young people stay in Sweden. Your taxes on higher education are directly harmful and lead to fewer companies and fewer jobs in all segments and to increased unemployment.
So you want to move forward aggressively and tax the banks because you think that it will not lead to any higher interest rates anywhere.
It is a well-known Social Democrat who is currently, so to speak, the head of Swedbank. When I speak with him, he usually explains how this is connected. It leads to higher interest rates for small companies, which leads to fewer employees. In that way, you are driving the jobs out of our country, which so much needs investments and initiatives in higher education and not punitive taxes on higher education. You must still love that people educate themselves. So that was it. Over the years, I have heard many Social Democrats say that education is important and that one should care.
In his second round, Serkan Köse specifically raises the issue of people with disabilities. It is clear that the situation there is even worse and has been for quite some time.
It was the case that during the previous parliamentary term, under the Social Democrats' leadership, enormous changes occurred at Arbetsförmedlingen. Very many people were dismissed under the Social Democratic leadership. Therefore, we are now trying in our regulatory letters to focus on Arbetsförmedlingen investing more in helping people to be coded so that they receive the right support or subsidized employment early on, but also on adapted workplaces and such.
I hopefully have the news to give that I believe Arbetsförmedlingen will be able to report to the Committee on Employment that major changes are now being made and that more people are being brought in who will again work with those who are furthest from the labor market. This applies in particular to people with disabilities.
Serkan Köse (S)
Madam Speaker! Once again, Johan Pehrson had four minutes to answer very simple questions, but instead, he spoke a lot about rocket research and that we do not think one should get a high school education.
No one has said that, on the contrary. Education absolutely leads to jobs. It is important. Given the mismatch we have on the Swedish labor market today, it is important that one gets an education.
Then Johan Pehrson says that more have left the Arbetsförmedlingen under S leadership. Let me remind him that it was in 2019 with Johan Pehrson's budget, 2021 with Johan Pehrson's budget and 2022 with Johan Pehrson's budget, which had enormous consequences for Arbetsförmedlingen - 3,000 people were laid off. It was not the Social Democrats' budget that passed in the Riksdag in 2019. I just want to remind Johan Pehrson of the history a little bit.
It is Johan Pehrson who is raising the disability tax. We can have a tax debate next time, Johan Pehrson, but now we are talking about young people and the situation of young people in the labor market. I am talking about young people with disabilities. The Minister does not provide answers to the questions. Once again, it confirms that there is no policy. The Minister has no plan. We see that when we look at the regional figures, when we look at youth unemployment, and when we look at what the unemployment looks like for young people with disabilities.
I expected the Minister to come to the chamber today and give us some information and some plans and speak about which reforms are underway and how one intends to handle the major challenges on the Swedish labor market today. Instead, the Minister talks about rocket research, upper secondary education and TikTok and refers to history that is incorrect. Again: These questions are important.
And the bank tax, yes, the big banks earn 500 million kronor in profit every day while Swedish households are on their knees. Every day, I prioritize that Swedish households should have better economic conditions over the banks earning 500 million kronor every day at the expense of me and us others.
Arbetsmarknads- och integrationsministern Johan Pehrson (L)
Madam Speaker! It is incredibly important that we increase competition in the banking market by achieving a strong internationalization in the European capital market. This would benefit Swedish citizens – young, middle-aged, and elderly. Everyone would benefit from this; we can agree on that.
But raising taxes for companies that work with financing, banks, will lead to companies being affected and thus not being able to grow and hire. Raising the tax for people who educate themselves does not per se mean that more people with education will flow here and that education is stimulated.
We have one of the world's highest tax burdens, and in many parts it is good. Our marginal taxes, especially on lower incomes, are among the highest. It is not reasonable, if we believe that it is people and not politicians like myself and Serkan Köse who build the country. People build this country. We must get skilled people here, because it creates jobs and new employment opportunities in all segments.
Arbetsförmedlingen is an important agency. They follow the legislation, the instructions, and the regulatory letters that exist, and there they have clear mandates. This is a very important work. They are almost 11,000 people, but not everyone can work at Arbetsförmedlingen. We must have a Sweden that grows and has strength, where people pay a lot of tax - not by definition high tax per head. If the money comes in, we can finance welfare.
But it is in the small companies that the jobs will emerge. A young person might start at an ice cream factory and end up at a battery factory later in life. In between, there are countless educational opportunities, which we have strengthened today. This is the government's education and labor policy.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.