This is presented in a new report from Statistics Sweden on the integration of foreign born persons in the labour market. The purpose of the report is to describe the situation on the labour market for foreign born persons with post-secondary education, and to compare them with Swedish born persons with similar backgrounds. This report describes not only the extent to which foreign immigrants are employed, but also the extent to which their work matches their training.

Fewer persons born abroad have jobs

Three out of four foreign born persons age 25–64 with tertiary education were gainfully employed in 2015. However, compared with Swedish born persons, the status of foreign born persons on the labour market is worse. Among Swedish born persons with a post-secondary education, 90 percent were employed and only one percent were unemployed. This can be compared with a six percent unemployment rate among foreign born persons.

Among both foreign born men and women, the employment rate increases with the time they have spent in Sweden. Other factors affecting employment rates include whether a foreign-born person’s education was obtained in Sweden or abroad, the country in which they were born, and the reason they came to Sweden. The highest employment rates are found among foreign born persons who have lived in Sweden for at least 20 years and who obtained their education in Sweden. However, even within this group, employment rates are not as high as among Swedish born persons.

Poorer matching between education and occupation

To describe the extent to which foreign and Swedish born persons with an extensive post-secondary education have an occupation that matches their education, five educational groups were studied: engineering, natural science, business economics, teaching and nursing.

Among engineering, natural science and business economics graduates, matching between and occupation’s competency requirements and education is substantially poorer among foreign born than among Swedish born persons. Matching is also worse for foreign born persons with a teaching or nursing education, but less so than among other graduates. However, if the matching comparison is limited to teachers and nurses with an education obtained in Sweden, then the proportion of foreign born persons with a matching occupation is just as high as among Swedish born persons. Among the other educational groups, matching is not as high as among Swedish born persons, regardless of how long they have been in Sweden, or whether their education was obtained in Sweden or abroad.

This report shows than there are foreign born persons with a post-secondary education in Sweden whose competence could be better utilised by employing them in an occupation that matches their educational competency level.

Read more in the report Integration – Matching between education and occupation