Mutual Learning Programme DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion
Peer Country Comments Paper - Sweden
Migration to a welfare state
Peer Review on 'Labour market inclusion of international protection applicants and beneficiaries' Madrid (Spain), 23-24 May 2016
Written by Eskil Wadensjö, Stockholm University May 2016
EUROPEAN COMMISSION Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion Unit A1 Contact: Emilio Castrillejo E-mail: [email protected] Web site: http://ec.europa.eu/social/mlp European Commission B-1049 Brussels
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
Mutual Learning Programme DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion
Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion Peer Review on 'Labour market inclusion of international protection applicants and beneficiaries' Madrid (Spain), 23-24 May 2016
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Mutual Learning Programme Peer Country Paper
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LEGAL NOTICE The information contained in this publication does not necessarily reflect the official position of the European Commission This document has received financial support from the European Union Programme for Employment and Social Innovation "EaSI" (2014-2020). For further information please consult: http://ec.europa.eu/social/easi © European Union, 2016 Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.
Mutual Learning Programme Peer Country Paper
Table of Contents
1 Situation of asylum seekers and refugees in Sweden ...... 1 2 Assessment of the policy measure ...... 2 3 Assessment of the success factors and transferability ...... 4 4 Questions ...... 5 Annex 1: Example of relevant practice ...... 6 Annex 2: Summary table ...... 7
Mutual Learning Programme Peer Country Paper
1 Situation of asylum seekers and refugees in Sweden This paper has been prepared for a Peer Review within the framework of the Mutual Learning Programme. It provides information on Sweden’s comments on the policy example of the Host Country for the Peer Review. Sweden has been a country with net immigration since 1930 (the only exception is 1971 when the return migration of labour migrants was larger than the inflow). Labour migration dominated in the late 1940s, in the 1950s and the 1960s and in 1970; from 1971 onwards the labour migration declined. Most labour migrants were from Europe, many of them from the neighbouring countries. Those born in Finland are still the largest group of foreign born living in Sweden. Refugees1 arrived in Sweden during World War II (those from Estonia remained in Sweden also after the war), from Hungary in the late 1950s, from Poland and Czechoslovakia in the late 1960s, from Chile in the 1970s, and from Iran in the 1980s. As the unemployment rate was very low in Sweden during this period, most of the migrants were able to find employment. In the 1990s, a very large group of refugees arrived from Bosnia when unemployment was very high in Sweden, much higher than in previous decades. As a result, the employment rate for this group from Bosnia was initially very low but after a few years it rose quickly. The problems were much more pronounced for other groups of migrants (mainly from countries outside Europe) arriving during the same decade. The Swedish National Audit Office is currently conducting a study on why the Bosnian refugees were able to successfully integrate in the labour market – the purpose is to examine if there are things to learn for the present situation. The present situation is characterized by a very large inflow of asylum applicants in 2015. Sweden had the second highest number of positive first instance decisions in 2015, 32,215 according to Eurostat. Only Germany had more, 140,910. Spain had only 1,020. Consequently, Sweden is one of the countries that have received most asylum seekers in the last few years, both in absolute terms and relative to its population. Most of them have also been permitted to stay as refugees. Regarding unaccompanied minors, Sweden is getting more applications and is accepting more children than any other country in Europe.2 According to Eurostat Sweden received 35,250 asylum applications from unaccompanied minors in 2015. Germany received the second highest, with 14,440 applications. Spain received only 25 applications from refugee minors. This large flow of asylum applicants has led to logistical problems both for the Migration Agency, the Public Employment Service and the municipalities. It takes much longer time than before to process the applications and the asylum applicants therefore have to wait much longer than before. Most of the refugees have arrived directly and not through relocation. The large flow of migrants, and problems regarding the handling of that large inflow, has led the political authorities (government, parliament) to change its migration policy. The main change has been the introduction of border controls. This in turn has resulted in much fewer refugees arriving.
1 The persons are when arriving classified as asylum seekers and are if they get a permit to stay classified as refugees. This process has been fast (a few months) up to 2015 and the very large inflow of asylum applicant. 2 See Çelikaksoy, A. and Wadensjö, E. (2015), Unaccompanied Minors and Separated Refugee Children in Sweden: An Outlook on Demography, Education and Employment, IZA DP 8963 and Çelikaksoy, A. och Wadensjö, E. (2015), “The Unaccompanied Refugee Minors and the Swedish Labour Market”, IZA DP 9306.
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Mutual Learning Programme Peer Country Paper
2 Assessment of the policy measure Spain and Sweden, as well as many other European countries, did not expect the large flows of refugee migrants that arrived in 2015. In Sweden, the refugee migrants mainly arrived from countries in the Middle East and Afghanistan but also from some countries in Eastern Africa. Sweden was probably better prepared than Spain, as Sweden has received refugees for many years but many more refugees arrived in Sweden than in Spain. The higher than expected inflow of asylum seekers and refugees has resulted in capacity constraints at the relevant authorities. This means that they cannot handle the refugee migrants as quickly as they have in the past. Asylum seekers now have to wait much longer than before to get a decision. This in turn has led to different challenges. Asylum seekers arriving in Sweden are initially hosted in only a few locations but are shortly after their arrival distributed across the municipalities of Sweden. The distribution of asylum seekers was until recently based on applications from the municipalities but now all municipalities have to accept refugees. The municipalities are responsible for hosting them (called ABO) as well as providing an education of their children. The housing differs depending on the capacity of the municipalities but also on the needs of the refugees. Quite a few of the asylum seekers are located based on their own preferences, with relatives already living in Sweden (called EBO). EBO is much less common among those who arrive as unaccompanied children. The type of accommodation provided depends on the capacity of the municipalities, but also on the needs of the refugees. Some changes in the housing programmes were made last year. For the young ones with fewer problems, less expensive housing forms were introduced (with fewer personnel per person living in the house). Children are placed in education, whilst the adults are offered different activities, such as education in Swedish and the Swedish society and also sports and other activities. There are legal opportunities for asylum seekers to work but in practice few get a job. The period before being granted asylum or not has in an international perspective been very short (a few months), although it has been much extended in recent months due to capacity issues at the Migration Agency. For those who are granted asylum and thereby get a permit to stay, the policy is that they should get a job. The policy has changed several times during the post war period. In the first decades after World War II it was the responsibility of the Public Employment Service, later a state organisation were responsible and then the municipalities. Since a few years back, it is the Public Employment Service that is again responsible for the labour market activities for the refugees. A first evaluation of that policy shows that for men it is a slightly better solution (but there are no significant effects for women). They get a job to a higher extent than before after the reform. The municipalities, together with the counties, are still in charge for other parts of the integration process, including housing and education (municipalities) and health services (municipalities and counties). A problem with labour market integration in Sweden is that the wages are compressed: the wages for those with low-skilled jobs are relatively high. Refugee migrants are often low-skilled and if they are highly skilled they are often not qualified for high-skilled jobs in Sweden meaning that they have to apply for jobs below their qualification levels (the incidence of over-education is relatively high among refugee migrants).3 The relatively high wages for low-skilled workers has resulted in problems not only for refugees but also for young people who have not completed secondary education and for disabled workers. For the high-skilled workers, validation of their qualifications is necessary for several licenced occupations. In many cases, additional education at a university in Sweden is
3 See Andersson Joona, P. Datta Gupta, N. and Wadensjö, E. “Over-education among immigrants in Sweden: Incidence, wage effects and state dependence”, IZA Journal of Migration, 2014, 3:9.
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Mutual Learning Programme Peer Country Paper also required to get a license for certain occupations. Moreover, to get a job in Sweden it is often also necessary to be able to speak Swedish. Different authorities, such as The National Board of Health and Welfare and The National Agency for Education, are in charge of the validation procedure. They currently face challenges as a result of the large number of applications and the relatively small number of employees handling the applications. It also takes time to train new employees to handle the applications. Another challenge is interpretation. Interpretation services are necessary during the legal process and also for the authorities and staff that are in contact with the asylum seekers and refugees. Those arriving as asylum seekers do not speak Swedish and most of them do not speak English (as most Swedes are able to do). Interpreters are urgently needed but there are not as many as required who are trained to be interpreters. There is currently an undersupply of authorized interpreters. Most of the interpreters used now are unauthorized, and studies have shown that they often make mistakes and are not fully aware of their role as interpreters. Asylum seekers and those granted refugee status have access to health services offered by the public sector (municipalities and counties) in Sweden. The large refugee migration last year has been a widely discussed political issue. However, it has also resulted in increased engagement from individuals and civil society organisations (NGOs). Many are volunteering to help the refugees in different respects. To summarize: Sweden has a long tradition of refugee migration but not at the scale experienced in 2015.
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Mutual Learning Programme Peer Country Paper
3 Assessment of the success factors and transferability The lessons from the Swedish experience are mainly from our earlier history and not from what has happened in 2015 (a period with large capacity issues regarding the different programmes for the migrants). The main lessons from 2015 are that it is important for the relevant authorities to be able to adjust their budgets and that policy adjustments can be made if necessary. I guess that the situation is more or less the same in Spain as in Sweden. One lesson is that labour market integration is very important. It is therefore necessary to involve the Public Employment Service (local employment offices) early in the process. The Public Employment Service may be able to find jobs for some of them but also to assist the refugees with different labour market programmes (e.g. work experience, subsidised jobs and/ or labour market education). I guess that this is of equal importance in Spain; work is a way of integration. But in the long run also other forms of policies are important for the integration of the refugees, including education, participation in associations of different kinds. Quite a few of the asylum seekers and the refugees have a qualification for skilled jobs (higher education or other forms of qualification). It is important that such qualifications are recognised early in the process. But it takes time. The authorities evaluating qualifications have recently received more resources but it takes time to train the new personnel. It is therefore in many cases difficult to for refugees to get their qualifications recognised and many end up in lower skilled jobs due to the delay in the recognition of their qualifications. As well as validating the education acquired abroad, it is also important to offer support to complete further education. In many cases a good knowledge of Swedish is also required. I guess that the situation is the same in Spain – quite a few of the refugees have higher education. A good knowledge of the Swedish language is also important. It is important to offer (or require) education in Swedish for all refugees (and of course Spanish for those who are coming to Spain). It is important that the education is organised in different ways for people with different educational background, making it more efficient. It is important to note that many are learning Swedish when working by working together with Swedes so work experience is also important in this respect. There are differences in the employment rate among refugees depending on which part of Sweden they are coming to. It depends both on the general labour market situation but also on the composition of the labour market. In general, it is best to come to the Stockholm County, where labour demand is relatively strong in many sectors. There have also been other parts of Sweden with high demand for low-skilled workers leading to employment for many refugees. Refugees have had problems finding employment when placed in parts of Sweden with low demand for labour. I guess it is important also in Spain – the labour demand differs between different parts of Spain. More labour markets programmes including more efforts to find jobs may be necessary for those who are placed in the parts of the country with weak labour demand. Many of the refugees are arriving as families or family members are arriving later. Many children are also arriving (some of them unaccompanied). Education is very important for the children. Pre-school education is also important for the very young making it possible for them to learn Swedish, get Swedish friends early and to integrate into the Swedish society.
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Mutual Learning Programme Peer Country Paper
4 Questions Are there any labour market programmes for refugee migrants in Spain and how are they in that case being organised? In what occupations are the refugees working? Are they mainly in unskilled jobs? What happens with the migrants with higher education? Are they getting their qualifications validated? How is the education for the refugees’ children organised? Do asylum seekers and refugees have the same access to, and are they paying the same for, health services as Spanish citizens?
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Mutual Learning Programme Peer Country Paper
Annex 1: Example of relevant practice
Name of the practice: Etableringsreformen (establishment reform) Year of implementation: October 1, 2010 Coordinating authority: Arbetsförmedlingen (the Swedish Public Employment Service) Objectives: To get refugees and their family members employed faster in Sweden; taking over part of the responsibility from the municipalities (the part on labour market integration) Main activities: job placement, labour market programmes Results so far: The reform has so far had positive effects for men but not any significant effects for women yet. A problem when evaluating this policy is that the reform is only a few years old and there is learning process at the PES regarding how to assist the refugees and their family members to get a job. The programme is for refugees aged 20-65 years and for those aged 18-20 years who do not have their parents living in Sweden.
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Mutual Learning Programme Peer Country Paper
Annex 2: Summary table
Labour market situation in the Peer Country
Sweden has a rather high employment rate. Compared to most countries in Europe women and older people are employed to a higher extent. Unemployment is higher among young people, disabled people and people who have arrived recently as refugees. The situation is different for labour migrants - they are employed to a high extent. It is easier for refugees (and also for other people) to get a job in the Stockholm area than in other parts of the country.
Assessment of the policy measure
The education is less of a problem for the young ones arriving than for those arriving as teenagers. A problem for the young ones is the lack of networks. Networks are important for getting into contact with employers. Swedish for foreigners is an important programme. But the results differ between groups. The labour market policy programmes are helping some of the refugees to get a job but is not solving all of the problems with labour market integration
Assessment of success factors and transferability
It is important to only have a short period of deciding the asylum applications. It is important with education in Swedish as soon as possible. The general labour market situation is very important for those newly arrived. Family reunion is very important for those arriving as refugees.
Questions
What are the conditions for the asylum applicants in Spain? How is the education in Spanish organised for those granted asylum? What are the labour market prospects for the refugees in Spain? What happens with refugees with higher education? Do they get qualified jobs?
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