In the latest budget bill, which was presented to parliament on 13 October 1998, the Swedish government proposed a new overall objective for employment, an objective that will complement the existing unemployment goal of halving the open unemployment rate to 4% by the end of the year 2000.
The unemployment rate has fallen rapidly during the last 12 months, from more than 8% in the summer of 1997 to slightly above 6% in the summer of 1998. This positive development in the labour market is partly due to the Adult Education Initiative, but also to an overall increase in the demand for labour.
Against the background of this positive development, the Swedish government has named as its target an increase in the employment rate among 20-64 year-olds from 74% in 1997 to 80% in the year 2004. This goal does not replace the goal of halving the open unemployment rate to 4% in the year 2000. On the contrary, it is a complementary objective. To fulfil the employment goal by the year 2004, the number of employed must increase by about 55,000 people every year until the year 2004. This corresponds to an annual employment growth of around 1-1.5%.
The implication of the new objective for employment is that policy emphasis will be put to a greater extent on how to stimulate and facilitate economic growth and thereby employment growth. This development is supported by a well-functioning education system and an active labour market policy. This implies, among other things, that active labour market policy will concentrate even more on labour market training, with the aim of eliminating bottlenecks in the labour market. Furthermore, the policy must seek to foster a culture of entrepreneurship, which implies, among other things, a tax system designed to support entrepreneurs and economic growth.
EU – European Commission DG EMPL/A/2 J
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