Learnings from Integration

The research project Learnings from Integration has focused on how to ensure that more immigrants arriving in Sweden become part of the labor market and how the education system can contribute to them getting established in Sweden.

This project was launched in 2017 and ended in June 2021. An important point of departure was that it takes a long time for immigrants, in particular refugees, to get established in the Swedish labor market. For decades, the number of refugees immigrating to Sweden has been higher compared to many other countries in the West. Many of the adult immigrants recently arriving in Sweden exhibit a low level of education and only a small number of newly arrived students complete their secondary education.

For this project, SNS recruited 17 renowned researchers in the fields of economics, business administration, sociology and demography as well as a broadly composed reference group. The result has been ten reports and 20 seminars and workshops. Summaries of the reports in English are available further below on this website.

Four lessons from the project

1. Integration spans several policy areas.
2. Education is crucial and early interventions have proven to play an important role.
3. A combination of measures is needed to improve labor market integration.
4. Internships and subsidized employment increase the probability of getting a job. However, women participate in these types of activities to a lesser extent than men.