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Bloomberg
The economic boom in Sweden is running into a familiar foe: a lack of skilled workers.
Even after a record inflow of migrants over the past three years that boosted the Nordic country’s population to above 10 million, businesses are having a harder and harder time finding workers.
The number of job vacancies per person seeking a job is at the highest since 2000 and no less than 12 of 15 job sectors are experiencing a labour shortage, according to the Public Employment Service. Pressure is growing on the Social Democratic-led government to maintain momentum as the economy approaches capacity ahead of elections next year.
The government last month also may have stoked growth further, unveiling a budget full of stimulus spending and even tax cuts, though added outlays on job training could help solve some of the labour squeeze and get more new arrivals working.
The constraints are clearly showing in the rising number of unfilled vacancies. They rose to about 78,000 in August, up 9 percent from a year earlier and a whopping 41 percent higher than two years ago. The Confederation of Swedish Enterprise, which represents 60,000 companies, says the lack of labour puts the expansion at risk. A June survey from the group found that more than 75 percent of companies looking for workers have had difficulties in finding recruits. “The shortage of labour is currently very large and in many areas is becoming acute,†said Torbjorn Halldin, an economist at the group.