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The Swedish Reform Programme for Growth and Jobs Progress Report 2007 the Swedish Reform Programme for Growth and Jobs Progress Report 2007

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The Swedish Reform Programme for Growth and Jobs Progress Report 2007 the Swedish Reform Programme for Growth and Jobs Progress Report 2007 The Swedish Reform Programme for Growth and Jobs Progress report 2007 The Swedish Reform Programme for Growth and Jobs Progress report 2007 Content 1 The Swedish Reform Programme for Growth and Jobs — Progress report 2007 ...................................................................................................................... 5 1.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................ 5 1.2 The state of the economy in Sweden ................................................................................. 8 1.3 Preparation of the Swedish Reform Programme for Growth and Jobs ......................................................................................................................................................... 10 2 Macroeconomic policy ................................................................................................................... 14 2.1 Guidelines 1 – 3 and Guideline 5 – Securing economic stability, safeguarding economic and fiscal sustainability and the efficient allocation of resources .................................................................................................................... 14 2.2 Guideline 4 – Ensuring that wage developments contribute to macroeconomic stability and growth ...................................................................... 20 2.3 Guideline 6 ................................................................................................................................................. 21 3 Microeconomic policy ................................................................................................................... 22 3.1 Guidelines 7 & 8 – Increasing and improving investment in research and development and facilitating all forms of innovation ........................................................................................................................................... 24 3.2 Guideline 9 – Facilitating the spread and effective use of information and communications technology .............................................. 26 3.3 Guideline 10 – Strengthening the competitive advantages of the industrial base ....................................................................................................................... 28 3.4 Guideline 11 – The sustainable use of resources and strengthening the synergies between environmental policy and growth .................................................................................................................................................. 31 3.5 Guideline 12 – Expanding and deepening the internal market ........... 36 3.6 Guideline 13 – Ensuring open and competitive markets in Europe and elsewhere ............................................................................................................... 37 3.7 Guideline 14 – Creating a more competitive business environment and encouraging private initiatives through simplified regulation ... 42 3.8 Guideline 15 – Promoting a more business friendly culture and creating a good climate for SMEs ............................................................................ 43 3.9 Guideline 16 – Expanding and linking up the European infrastructure .......................................................................................................................................... 49 4 Employment policy ........................................................................................................................... 50 4.1 Guideline 17 – Achieving full employment, improving quality and productivity at work and strengthening social and territorial cohesion .................................................................................................................. 51 4.2 Guideline 18 – Promoting a life cycle approach to work .............................. 57 4.3 Guideline 19 – Ensuring inclusive labour markets, enhancing work attractiveness and making work pay for jobseekers, including disadvantaged people and the inactive ............................................... 65 4.4 Guideline 20 – Improving matching of labour market needs .................. 71 4.5 Guideline 21 – Promoting flexibility combined with employment security and reducing labour market segmentation, with due regard to the role of the social partners ............................................... 73 4.6 Guideline 22 – Ensuring employment-friendly labour cost developments and wage-setting mechanisms ........................................................ 76 4.7 Guidelines 23 and 24 – Adapting education and training systems in response to new competence requirements through expanding and improving investment in human capital ......78 Appendix 1 Sörmland Regional Council intensifies its efforts to implement the LisbonStrategy .......................................................................... 85 Appendix 2 Integrated guidelines ......................................................................................................... 90 Appendix 3 Structural indicators ......................................................................................................... 99 Appendix 4 Indicators for monitoring employment policy ....................................... 101 1 The Swedish Reform Programme for Growth and Jobs – Progress report 007 1.1 Introduction The EU Strategy for Growth and Jobs, the Lisbon strategy, lays the basis for EU’s joint work to meet shared challenges. It is about the creation of macroeco- nomic stability and the enhancement of the EU’s competitiveness by investing in research and education, improving the business climate and implementing the internal market. It is also about reforms to improve the functioning of the labour market in Europe and strengthen social cohesion, as well as to safeguard environmentally sustainable growth. Under the strategy, the Member States are to draw up national reform pro- grammes showing how the strategy is being implemented at the national level. The Swedish Reform Programme for Growth and Jobs 2006 to 2008, presented the Government’s policy, which is to lay the basis for long-term sustainable economic development, create scope for the provision of increased welfare and meet future challenges. This progress report for 2007 gives an account of the next stage in the Government’s policy with its focus on making it worthwhile to work and run a business. Full employment for better welfare and more equity The Swedish economy is growing rapidly. More and more people are getting jobs, while sick leave, open unemployment, and the number of people in la- bour market measures is declining. Thus the total number of people excluded from the labour market is falling markedly. Reducing exclusion and getting more people to work is the Government’s overall and most important goal. With more people working and fewer outside the labour market, there is scope for continuing to reduce taxes and develop welfare services. This lays the basis for long-term growth that safeguards our welfare system while maintaining strong public finances. Despite good growth, much still remains to be done to make Sweden a coun- try of full employment again without too many people stuck in passivity, their ability to work unused. There are still too few ways back to work and the incent- ives to work are too weak. If Sweden is to meet the challenges ahead, it must have a strong economy. It requires an economy that can respond to the increased demand for welfare services as the population ages. It requires a strong economy that enables people to enjoy a better everyday life, eliminates poverty and provides security for the elderly. It requires a strong economy that is sustainable in the long term and makes it possible to take measures to counter climate change. It requires an economy that can also withstand a recession. It is also an economy that can position itself well, given the increased competition that globalisation brings. Keeping public finances in good order in both the short and the long term is a cornerstone of the policy to create more jobs and attract more people into the labour force. A responsible policy with good public finances safeguards welfare systems for future generations. The surplus target for general government net lending will be maintained and each reform will be examined in light of what the economy can bear. More and broader ways back and stronger incentives to work The Government is making a number of reforms aimed at creating clearer in- centives to work and more and better ways back for those who are now outside the labour market. Income taxes especially for low- and middle-income earn- ers were lowered in 2007 and further reductions have been proposed for 2008 through an enhanced in-work tax credit. It makes it pay to begin working, but it also strengthen the incentives for those already working to increase the number of hours they work. The Government has proposed a number of measures to provide more ways back from sickness absence to work. A rehabilitation chain with fixed points at which a person’s capacity to work will be reviewed is being introduced and benefit rules will be clarified. The possibilities for people on sick leave to test their capacity to work are being reinforced and support to help them return to the labour market is being improved. A rehabilitation guarantee will be intro- duced and occupational health services improved. New initiatives
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