Organizing Labour market integration support for immigrants in Sweden

Abstract

Integration is described by many societal stakeholders and by media as one of the major contemporary challenges facing society in Sweden. This article reviews some important labour market integration measures for immigrants in Sweden and outlines some of the insights from recent studies of how the measures are organized in practice. The article illustrates that while LMI support for immigrants is heavily subsidized by the state and administered through the Swedish Public Employment Service, much of the actual support efforts are provided by other public, private and social/nonprofit organizations who collaborate in projects or as part of local agreements. This creates a complexity in practice that is not necessarily conducive to a more sustainable integration of immigrants into the labour market.