Rapport Integration 2002

the swedish integration report for 2002
a summary
One of the most important tasks of the Swedish
Integration Board is to observe and evaluate developments
in Swedish society from the viewpoint of
ethnical and cultural diversity. One way in which
we fulfil this obligation is by presenting an annual
report on the subject, the Integration Report. Last
year’s report was the first in what has developed into
a regular series.
The 2002 Integration Report contains an array
of basic facts, reflects on current developments and
describes progress in a number of fields that are of
central importance for integration. This information
provides a basis for policy changes and for action on
behalf of integration and diversity in Sweden. The
report describes advances, stumbling blocks and
opportunities in the integration field in the following
areas:
• Employment
• Education
• Housing
• Refugee introduction programmes
The labour market
A growing number of foreign-born inhabitants have
gained employment on the Swedish labour market in
recent year. During the economic upswing of the late
1990s, employment increased more rapidly among
persons born abroad than among native Swedes.
The general decline in employment that occurred in
2002 affected foreign-born and Swedish-born inhabitants
in equal measure and did not strike those
born abroad excessively, as it did in the early 1990s.
This suggests that a sustainable improvement in the
employment position of foreign-born inhabitants is
under way.
However the employment gap between those born
abroad and those born in Sweden remains substantial.
Just over 61 per cent of foreign-born inhabitants
are in employment, compared with just under 76 per
cent of native Swedes. Consequently, there is still a
gap of around 15 percentage points between the two
categories.
A person’s employment prospects improve the
longer he or she stays in Sweden. Immigration means
developing new social networks and building up basic
skills in the new language.
In the case of immigrants who have lived in Sweden
for up to four years, employment is 25 percentage
points lower among foreign-born men and 35 percentage
points lower among foreign-born women than
among Swedish-born inhabitants. However, differences
still persist in the case of inhabitants who have
lived in Sweden for as long as 20 years. Their level of
employment is 7 percentage points lower than that of
native Swedes.
The labour market is not unbiased to ethnicity
In employment terms, persons born abroad have a
favourable level of education and a suitable age structure
– but this does not give them the same advantages
on the labour market as native Swedes. The labour
market is not operating in an unbiased manner.
The Swedish labour market tends to differentiate
between foreign born and Swedish born inhabitants
with regard to job opportunities and promotion.
Even the region a person is born in or ones parents’
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