PART 1
Survey: Ukrainian refugees quickly find work
Published 7/9/2023


The lack of integration in the labor market has long been one of the major problems with non-Western asylum-related immigration to Sweden. While many in that group are supported by benefits for decades after arriving here, the picture is significantly different for the newly arrived Ukrainian refugees. More than half have already started working there. This is shown by a survey that the UN Migration Organization (IOM) has carried out on behalf of the Government Office.

In a record time in Sweden, the Ukrainian refugees in Sweden are entering the labor market. Already, more than half of those who fled wartime Ukraine have become self-supporting.

This surprises national economists as the result for asylum-related immigration from other parts of the world is considerably more disappointing . Large groups go unemployed for decades and cost the Swedish taxpayers enormous sums in benefits at the same time as no tax money comes into the publicly funded activities.

Over half already in work
On behalf of the Government Office, the UN Migration Organization (IOM) has interviewed nearly 5,000 Ukrainian refugees about their situation in Sweden, including how they have been able to find a job. Judging by how it usually looks for other migrant groups, the expectations have not been set very high, but have, gratifyingly, been exceeded by a large margin.

Already, 56 percent of Ukrainian refugees of working age have switched from benefits to self-support. It is a significantly higher percentage than what has been seen with other migrant groups, where in several cases you do not reach that figure even after several decades of residence in Sweden.

- 56 percent after one year is a lot. It usually takes longer than that. It's off to a very good start for this group. As time goes by, they will probably be well integrated into the Swedish labor market, says Mats Hammarstedt, professor of economics at the Linnaeus University and the Institute for Business Research, in a comment to Tidningen Näringslivet after having read the positive figures.

Expert rain for real
A partial explanation is that the Ukrainian refugees generally have a significantly higher level of education compared to the large migrant groups from the Third World that we in Sweden are used to receiving. In contrast to these, it is safe to say that there is a "rain of skills" in the case of the Ukrainian refugees - as many as 63 percent have a university education in their luggage.

Something that also stands out is that a large majority of the Ukrainian refugees are women. When Ukraine was invaded, it was obvious to many that the men would stay behind and defend the country and put women and children to safety. It is at odds with how it looks for the non-Western migrant groups, where it is common for the men to leave their wives and children in the lurch and find safety in Sweden themselves.

For non-Western asylum-related migrant groups, women with children have the absolute lowest employment rate. After decades in Sweden, many have never set foot on the labor market and often also declare that they have no intention of doing so because they have never worked in their home country. For the Ukrainian refugees, it looks different – ​​many are women with children, but have nevertheless quickly found work.