The labour market outcomes for native- and foreign-born adults during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic vary considerably across countries -- with inequalities in employment even falling in some cases compared to 2017. In contrast with the 2008 financial crisis, greater educational attainment does not seem to have had a clear protective…

Purpose: This study aims to explore a specific case of the alleged mismatch between higher education and employability by investigating long-term work life outcomes for graduates from a small university college in Sweden, and the associations between these outcomes and the graduates' social background, academic achievements and study approach in…

This research paper is the fifth in a series produced as part of the Cedefop project The changing nature and role of VET (2016-18). Based on comparative analysis of labour force survey data from 2014, the report analyses the vocational effect on labour market and education outcomes, asking whether any advantages conferred by vocational…

Across OECD countries, more and more individuals have attained tertiary education and the share of those with less education has declined. Although there are more tertiary-educated individuals than ever before, they still achieve good labour market outcomes. This confirms that labour market demand is generally keeping pace with rising educational…

Nowadays, women outperform men in educational attainment in many countries. Still, large variation between countries remains. Emancipatory contexts in which individuals are raised might explain these differences in male-female educational attainment, both over time and across countries. This study examines individual and contextual factors that…

This study aimed at identifying and describing occupational career patterns (OCPs) from age 16 to 43 by applying optimal matching techniques to sequence data obtained from a sample of Swedish women. Women's occupational trajectories were found to be diverse. Upward mobility (3 patterns) and stable careers (4 patterns) were prevalent, but there…

The main thesis of this paper is that measured unemployment bears a different relationship to real excess labor supply in the 1970s than it did in the 1960s. This thesis is used to explain the increase in measured unemployment in the Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. (Author/EB)

This paper explores the impact of policies and institutions on employment and unemployment of OECD countries in the past decades. Reduced-form unemployment equations, consistent with standard wage setting/price-setting models, are estimated using cross-country/time-series data from 21 OECD countries over the period 1982-2003. In the…

Analyzes the effects of the recent recession and subsequent recovery on the position of women in the labor market in four European countries (Belgium, France, Sweden, United Kingdom), and specifically, ascertains whether in general women's job opportunities were more vulnerable to the fluctuations in economic activity than those of men. (SH)

This paper contains an overview of labor market policy in Sweden. It refers to job placement services and other more or less selective measures to improve opportunities for people to obtain and retain a job. The paper first examines the objectives of labor market policies since the 1950s, then it highlights such labor market trends as the increase…

The Swedish employment structure and the role of colleges in preparing people for work is being studied by the Swedish Research on Higher Education program. The project is designed to: survey changes in the Swedish economy and employment structure during the postwar period; assess the extent to which business and industry have given priority to…

Data from a national sample of 9,000 young people in Sweden show that about one-fifth lack an upper secondary education by age 20. Although characterized by low and declining school achievement and poor self-esteem, most do not experience real unemployment, and enter the regular labor market at age 20. (SLD)

Reasons why so few (approximately 16%) of former students from Swedish schools for the mentally retarded find employment without government subsidy are explored through interviews with 12 teachers, 2 parents, 11 vocational instructors, and 14 employer representatives. Problems with placement of the retarded are considered. (SLD)

This document consists of the 24 papers delivered at a conference that had five workshops examining various dimensions of the social and occupational transition of young people. The papers are arranged by workshop/session. A summary report precedes the other papers presented during a session. The papers in the session on perspectives on systems,…

This brief examines trends in the retail trade, especially in grocery stores, from an international perspective. A comparison of recent national studies finds the following: (1) significant differences in structure and organization exist, especially in the role of traditional small shops versus large chain grocery stores; (2) increasing store size…