New Government assignment to focus on increasing professional and geographical labour mobility

Unemployment in Sweden remains high and anyone who is unemployed needs to be prepared to relocate or change their occupation in order to find work. For example, this could mean relocating to meet labour needs arising from major business start-ups and expansions around the country.

“Jobseekers need to do what is necessary to find work. This could include changing career or relocating to where the jobs are. The Government is now tightening controls to ensure that this is implemented, through a new assignment to the Swedish Public Employment Service,” says Minister for Employment and Integration Mats Persson. 

Improved job matching and monitoring

In its appropriation directions for 2024, the Government tasked the Swedish Public Employment Service with improving job-matching services and monitoring jobseekers. The Swedish Public Employment Service will also continue its work to increase the professional and geographical labour mobility of jobseekers. To support these efforts, the Swedish Public Employment Service has now been tasked to further develop the control to ensure that jobseekers follow the direction in their action plan regarding their professional and geographical job search areas.

Under current regulations, the Swedish Public Employment Service must develop individual action plans in collaboration with jobseekers. The action plan must include the direction of their job search, especially in terms of the occupational and geographical area of their search. Based on the action plan, jobseekers must then regularly report on what measures they have taken to find work.

A report on this assignment is to be presented by 1 October 2025.