The Parliament today debated the interpellation made against the government regarding the unemployment crisis. In her group speech, vice chair of SFP, MP Sandra Bergqvist stressed the fact that the way out of the crisis is to create better conditions for entrepreneurship and investment.
“If we want more people to have jobs, we have to boost growth. Businesses have the courage to invest and recruit when they see a positive future outlook. Therefore, decisive selective measures are needed in this spring’s framework decisions to further strengthen the economy and get the wheels rolling,” Bergqvist says.
The government has already completed several reforms for improving the labour market’s functionality. Opportunities for local agreements were broadened, the mediation system for labour disputes was revised to improve the export sector’s competitiveness, cooperation procedure legislation was modernised and industrial peace has been increased.
At the same time, further measures are clearly still needed.
“Economics is also a matter of psychology. The market is to a great extent built on future expectations. Therefore we must create stability and confidence in the future for households and businesses,” Bergqvist explains.
Current studies show that it is increasingly difficult for businesses – especially small ones – to obtain loans for their operations, which slows down investment. Therefore the government is exploring how banks could be more accommodating to businesses needing financing.
The difficult employment situation has also hit young adults hard. To improve young people’s access to the labour market, the government is investing EUR 30 million in a youth employment voucher. In parallel, a legal amendment is under way that would make it easier for unemployed people aged over 25 to attend open university studies without losing their unemployment benefits. This would strengthen lifelong learning and improve job-seeking opportunities.
“These are steps in the right direction, but we still need to do more. Therefore, the Swedish Parliamentary Group wants the government to look even more closely at various efforts it could make to boost employment among young people,” Bergqvist concludes.
