Compared to the rest of Europe, no country can measure up to Denmark in regards to getting the unemployed back into the workforce.
A new report from the Dansk Metal metalworkers union reveals that no country in Europe has as few long-term unemployed as Denmark.
The report showed that just 7 percent of unemployed people in Denmark are long-term unemployed – a figure that is about four times lower than in neighbouring Sweden and Germany.
“Fewer people being without a job for a long time gives us a far less polarised society,” said Erik Bjørsted, the lead economist at Dansk Metal.
“Long-term unemployment is self-reinforcing and, in time, they perhaps completely lose the connection to the labour market. So it’s important to limit long-term unemployment. It’s also good for the state coffers.”
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Over half back working within weeks
The report also shows that countries that prioritise employment from a financial point of view are best at getting their unemployed back to work.
In Denmark, for instance, 55 percent of unemployed people in the third quarter of 2022 managed to find a new job in the following quarter.
According to Dansk Metal, Denmark’s impressive result was attributed to a flourishing job market in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
