Sweden’s got a major supply and demand problem.

By 2025, its entire workforce is expected to grow by 207,000 people—yet it needs more than that number just to staff its fabled welfare state. The worker shortfall could crimp services and raise labor costs, especially in a political environment less hospitable to immigration.

Local authorities recruiting 208,000 workers is “not a credible scenario,” said Annika Wallenskog, chief economist at the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions. The real risk is that the public and private sectors end up competing for the same workers, she said.

The government is going to have to come up with some seriously big ideas on how to make up for future labor shortages. Immigration has also become an especially sensitive topic since the country re-imposed border controls in the wake of the 2015 refugee crisis.

Sweden needs to accelerate the speed of automation, increase employment and reform its welfare state, Wallenskog said. Otherwise “we won’t have enough people to continue working the way we do.”

I have a few ideas on how they can solve this problem but it they might sound pretty radical to the socialist country of Sweden.

First solution, get 3.5% of the 6 million 20-64 year olds OFF THE WELFARE SYSTEM and you have more than 208,000 new people to join the workforce. I pretty sure you could fine 3.5% of the folks on welfare are abusing the system and are actually able to work but choose to stay on welfare instead. Get the abuser out of the system and problem is solved.

Another solution is to simply stop allowing immigrants into the country if they can't work and need welfare. The big problem here is that Sweden has a nice cushy welfare program and they are allowing low skilled immigrants into the country but the immigrates make more money on welfare than they would with a real job so there's no incentive for them to work. So Sweden either needs to fix their immigration system and only allow in higher skilled workers or cut back on the amount of money you get on welfare.

Is immigration killing Sweden's welfare state?

The benefits which immigrants get are remarkable if one is to list them. An alternative newspaper look into it a couple of years ago and the claim was later investigated by leftist journalists who found them to be true. A single mother with three children can get around 22 000 SEK (circa $2500) each month tax free in benefits and welfare, and a family with four children can get 32 800 SEK each month (circa $3700). They actually get less money if they start working.

https://www.quora.com/Is-immigration-killing-Swedens-welfare-state

Of course the best and most radical solution would be to not have a welfare state at all and let families, friends, churches and other organisation provide financial assistance to those in need.

Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-05-15/look-at-what-s-going-to-happen-to-sweden-s-fabled-welfare-state