Towards Activation or Inactivation? Migrants’ Experiences of Encounters with the Swedish Public Employment Service
Sweden has long pursued activation policies, particularly towards vulnerable groups in the labour market, with the Swedish Public Employment Service (PES) being the main agent of these policies. Recent cutbacks and organisational changes within the PES have significantly altered the support offered,...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Helsinki University Press
2025-01-01
|
| Series: | Nordic Journal of Migration Research |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://account.journal-njmr.org/index.php/uh-j-njmr/article/view/735 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1823859362329788416 |
|---|---|
| author | Maja Lilja Hanna Li Kusterer Sven Trygged |
| author_facet | Maja Lilja Hanna Li Kusterer Sven Trygged |
| author_sort | Maja Lilja |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Sweden has long pursued activation policies, particularly towards vulnerable groups in the labour market, with the Swedish Public Employment Service (PES) being the main agent of these policies. Recent cutbacks and organisational changes within the PES have significantly altered the support offered, particularly affecting migrants with low education and little work experience. This study investigates how these migrants experience encounters with the PES after the initial establishment period. A total of 23 refugees, mostly women, participated in semi-structured interviews that were analysed thematically. The interviewees struggled with job applications and requested personal encounters with the PES’s caseworkers, which was often denied. Classification played a role in relation to support from the PES; for example, it seemed that activities offered were based on gendered classifications, limiting some of the women. Furthermore, despite the activation policies, we discerned a risk of becoming inactive, especially because some interviewees believed that they should wait to be contacted by the PES to be offered a job or job-related activity. This calls for a different approach by the PES with more flexibility, practical support and opportunities for in-person meetings. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e153bf5eef8243919b75340b56e3531f |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1799-649X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Helsinki University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nordic Journal of Migration Research |
| spelling | doaj-art-e153bf5eef8243919b75340b56e3531f2025-02-11T05:40:51ZengHelsinki University PressNordic Journal of Migration Research1799-649X2025-01-011532210.33134/njmr.735711Towards Activation or Inactivation? Migrants’ Experiences of Encounters with the Swedish Public Employment ServiceMaja Lilja0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8797-0533Hanna Li Kusterer1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8537-667XSven Trygged2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7028-8247Department of Social Work, Criminology, and Public Health Sciences, University of GävleDepartment of Social Work, Criminology, and Public Health Sciences, University of Gävle; Department of Education, Stockholm UniversityDepartment of Social Work, Criminology, and Public Health Sciences, University of GävleSweden has long pursued activation policies, particularly towards vulnerable groups in the labour market, with the Swedish Public Employment Service (PES) being the main agent of these policies. Recent cutbacks and organisational changes within the PES have significantly altered the support offered, particularly affecting migrants with low education and little work experience. This study investigates how these migrants experience encounters with the PES after the initial establishment period. A total of 23 refugees, mostly women, participated in semi-structured interviews that were analysed thematically. The interviewees struggled with job applications and requested personal encounters with the PES’s caseworkers, which was often denied. Classification played a role in relation to support from the PES; for example, it seemed that activities offered were based on gendered classifications, limiting some of the women. Furthermore, despite the activation policies, we discerned a risk of becoming inactive, especially because some interviewees believed that they should wait to be contacted by the PES to be offered a job or job-related activity. This calls for a different approach by the PES with more flexibility, practical support and opportunities for in-person meetings.https://account.journal-njmr.org/index.php/uh-j-njmr/article/view/735labour market integrationactivation policiesswedish public employment serviceclassificationmigrants |
| spellingShingle | Maja Lilja Hanna Li Kusterer Sven Trygged Towards Activation or Inactivation? Migrants’ Experiences of Encounters with the Swedish Public Employment Service Nordic Journal of Migration Research labour market integration activation policies swedish public employment service classification migrants |
| title | Towards Activation or Inactivation? Migrants’ Experiences of Encounters with the Swedish Public Employment Service |
| title_full | Towards Activation or Inactivation? Migrants’ Experiences of Encounters with the Swedish Public Employment Service |
| title_fullStr | Towards Activation or Inactivation? Migrants’ Experiences of Encounters with the Swedish Public Employment Service |
| title_full_unstemmed | Towards Activation or Inactivation? Migrants’ Experiences of Encounters with the Swedish Public Employment Service |
| title_short | Towards Activation or Inactivation? Migrants’ Experiences of Encounters with the Swedish Public Employment Service |
| title_sort | towards activation or inactivation migrants experiences of encounters with the swedish public employment service |
| topic | labour market integration activation policies swedish public employment service classification migrants |
| url | https://account.journal-njmr.org/index.php/uh-j-njmr/article/view/735 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT majalilja towardsactivationorinactivationmigrantsexperiencesofencounterswiththeswedishpublicemploymentservice AT hannalikusterer towardsactivationorinactivationmigrantsexperiencesofencounterswiththeswedishpublicemploymentservice AT sventrygged towardsactivationorinactivationmigrantsexperiencesofencounterswiththeswedishpublicemploymentservice |