Migration to the Nordic region increased strongly during the refugee crisis in 2015. On a per-capita basis, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden have taken in more asylum seekers than most other European countries. In the coming years, these refugees and subsequent newcomers have to be integrated into the Nordic labour markets, if asylum is granted. This will be an extremely challenging process.
All Nordic countries are characterised by significant employment gaps between natives and foreign born, with particularly large gaps existing in Denmark, Finland and Sweden. Refugees in particular are more dependent on welfare support and less likely to be employed than natives. In recent years, an increasing number of studies have analysed measures to promote employment among migrants. Nonetheless, a systematic review of how different policies influence employment rates of refugees and other migrant groups in the Nordic countries has not been available previously.
A new report produced by Nordregio for the Nordic Council of Ministers now gives an overview of existing measures to integrate immigrants into the Nordic labour market including policy recommendations and outlines of best practice. The report will be presented at a launch event at the Ministry of Finance in Oslo on 29 May.
Venue: Ministry of Finance, Auditorium R5, Akersgata 59, 0032 Oslo (Norway)
The event is free of charge but registration is mandatory.
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PROGRAMME 29 MAY
8:30 – 9:00 Arrival and Coffee
9:00 – 9:10 Welcome, Siv Jensen (Minister of Finance, Norway)
9:10 – 9:20 Immigration and integration in the Nordic Region – recent trends, Nora Sánchez Gassen (Nordregio)
9:20 – 9:35 Integrating immigrants into the Nordic labour markets – summary of the project, Lars Calmfors (Stockholm University and Research Institute of Industrial Economics)
9:35 – 10:30 Presentations of chapters from the report
Education efforts and the future employment of adolescent immigrants, Anders Böhlmark (Stockholm University)
Social insurance design and the economic integration of immigrants, Oddbjørn Raaum (Ragnar Frisch Centre for Economic Research)
Wage policies and the integration of immigrants, Per Skedinger (Research Institute of Industrial Economics and Linnaeus University Växjö)
10:30 – 10:45 Making refugee integration work – Policies and good practices for labour market integration in OECD countries, Thomas Liebig (OECD)
10:45 – 11:45 Panel discussion: What works best in integrating immigrants into the Nordic labour markets?, Steinar Holden (University of Oslo), Thomas Liebig (OECD), Marie-Louise Schultz-Nielsen (The Rockwool Foundation)
Moderator: Lars Calmfors (Stockholm University and Research Institute of Industrial Economics)
11:45 End of event
