Denmark, Sweden and Norway all run programmes that aim to encourage people with refugee status to move away from social benefits and into the labour market. A new comparative analysis by the Nordic Council of Ministers includes analysis of the labour market integration of adult refugees settled in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden between 2008 and 2019, using data from 280 000 adults.

After the high influx of refugees to Europe in 2015 - 2016, efforts to promote their labour market integration intensified in all three countries. Related policies include those on assessing education and skills qualifications from a person's home country, job training (in the form of both unpaid internships and subsidised jobs), lowering the number of refugees receiving social benefits in comparison with the majority population, and granting access to such rights as permanent stay and citizenship to full time employees only. Education and language courses are free, and  state grants or loans have been made available for those wishing to study.

The analysis finds that policies in all three countries are reasonably efficient. However, the report says, the refugee employment rate is still lower than that of the majority population, and for refugee women and majority women this gap is even more significant. Further, those refugees that do manage to secure work tend to have a lower income than the average non-refugee citizen, and a less stable connection to the labour market. These gaps narrow somewhat after several years of residence.

There could be a number of reasons for refugees' weaker connection to the labour market, which the analysis does not take into account. These include previous traumatic experiences, poorer mental and physical health, lower education levels from the home countries, culture and language barriers, a lack of relevant experience, discrimination, and prejudice. 

The analysis also finds that integration measures for newly arrived refugees differ by country: Denmark places greater focus on employment measures, particularly in offering (unpaid) job training; Norway has increased focus on education in recent years (mainly at lower levels); Sweden has a substantially greater share of refugees enrolled in education, from high school level upwards, as well as in subsidised employment.

Overall, the analysis finds that Sweden and Norway have similar labour market integration outcomes for refugees, while Denmark has substantially lower refugee employment and earning levels - in both the short and long term. It shows that investment in upskilling and (supplementary) education, in the initial years after arrival, may ensure more stable integration in the labour market for refugees in the long run.