Sweden: Only 11% of Newly-Arrived Migrants Have Jobs, New Statistics Show
Just 1 in 10 working-age 'asylum seekers' who arrived after 2015 is in employment
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In Sweden, only 11.43 percent of working-age migrants who arrived since 2015 have jobs, according to new government-backed statistics.
The newly released data show that just over one in ten newly-arrived "asylum seekers" are working, with the majority claiming some form of taxpayer-funded welfare.
The study, carried out by Statistics Sweden, shows that migrant unemployment rates are sky-high.
The data also indicates that the Swedish state-funded social welfare services are being disproportionately relied on by Middle Eastern and North African low-skilled migrants, Aftonbladet reports.
The study looked at data gathered on migrants who arrived in 2015 and after and have permanent residence permits today, and examined how they are sustaining themselves economically.
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The statistics showed that of the 40,019 migrants the study looked at, who are 16-years-old and over, only 4,574 sustain themselves economically through some form of employment.
18,405 get their livelihood from taxpayer-funded welfare.
9,970 receive economic sustenance from state-supported educational funding.
In its review of the study, Aftonbladet notes: “Eight of the ten municipalities that received the most asylum seekers in 2015 have higher unemployment than the national average and all ten have a higher proportion of the population living on welfare.”
The municipality of Ljusnarsberg in Örebro county has seen its unemployment rate surge above 10 percent.
The county received the highest number of migrants relative to its population - 230 per 1,000 inhabitants.
Today, 22.9 percent of its residents are now on social welfare.
The same trend can be seen in the municipality of Norberg in Västmanland County.
The city of Norberg received the second-highest share of migrants relative to its population.
Here, the unemployment rate is currently at 8.6 percent, while 16.9 percent of residents are receiving state-funded welfare.
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According to economist and academic Petter Lundborg, the solution to the growing problem is to construct an economy that has more simple and low-skilled jobs that do not require education or extensive training.
“Sweden is one of the most high-tech countries in the world, where we streamline simpler jobs,” Lundborg said.
"Therefore, the knowledge gap is too large for many of the refugee immigrants who come here."
For Lundborg, the only way to solve this problem is for Sweden to construct a labor market with an “increased share of easier jobs” that will allow for newly arrived immigrants to integrate fully into Swedish society.
