SNS Economic Policy Council Report 2026.
The welfare sector accounts for one fifth of Sweden’s labor market – yet it also has the lowest wages in the EU compared to the rest of the economy. Under current conditions, the welfare sector cannot both be staffed adequately and continue to expand. In the SNS Economic Policy Council report, written by among other Oskar Nordström Skans, one of the AISCAF cluster leaders, show that uncomfortable choices are necessary: higher wages to increase attractiveness, lower formal qualification requirements, reduced ambitions for welfare services, or a combination of these. The report also discussed how AI can affect the demand for personnel in the welfare sector.
According to the report, there are three main ways to meet the recruitment challenge in the welfare sector. All options involve difficult trade-offs and increased costs – economic or political.
Make More People Want to Work in the Sector
Higher wages can facilitate recruitment. A related tool is targeted education subsidies, which in other countries have been shown to generate more and better applicants to specialist training programs. This path will likely require additional funding through higher taxes or fees.
Ensure that More People Can Work in the Sector
To ease recruitment, it is reasonable to minimize formal competence requirements and other barriers. Over recent decades, the share of foreign-born workers in the welfare sector has increased sharply, largely because many people with refugee-related migration backgrounds work in the sector. Yet political debate consistently emphasizes reduced migration.
Lower Recruitment Ambitions
This can be achieved through prioritization between services or through increased productivity. However, the researchers show that the welfare sector is dominated by tasks that are difficult to streamline to such an extent that staffing shortages can be solved through AI and other technologies.
About the SNS Economic Policy Council
Since 1974, SNS annually appoints a group of academic researchers that, going under the name of the SNS Economic Policy Council, analyses how various key aspects of the economy function over time. Based on its conclusions, the Council makes recommendations to politicians and also, occasionally, to other decision-makers.
SNS’ purpose is to ensure that the public debate is based on high-quality scientific research; the Economic Policy Council reports usually attract a good deal of attention in the media. The authors take full responsibility for the analysis, conclusions and proposals in the report, on which SNS as an organisation adopts a neutral stance.