Hire in Sweden

Overview of Sweden

Population: 10,673,669 people (2024)

GDP: 620.71 USD billion in estimated for 2024

Economic Overview

The economy of Sweden has seen a 0.8% rise from the last quarter in the first three months of 2021 exceeding precious estimates that Sweden would see a 1.1% growth in the first quarter of 2021.

Market Size

The market size of Sweden with an economy of 531 billion USD and a population of 10 billion USD is one of the best countries to immigrate to with comfortable income, social benefits, and a stable pension scheme. Further, Sweden also ranks amongst the top 10 countries for stable governance and ease of doing business and investments in Research and Development.

Sweden’s Industrial Sectors

• Sweden acts as a lucrative country for many foreign nations like Switzerland, Luxembourg, and the UK to invest mainly in the manufacturing sector, as well as in the legal, professional, scientific and technical activities, and the wholesale and retail sector.
• The high investments are a direct result of the favorable political and socio-economic safety net that helps in protecting the business climate.
• The domestic market also helps in fueling FDI as they are one of the strongest demographics in terms of purchasing power parity in Europe and a growing capability to consume.
• This in addition to low corporate taxes with no strict capitalization rules helps businesses establish themselves with relative ease.
• Sweden also ranks number three in the world regarding Internet speed with a download speed of 55.18 Mbps and no restrictions on internet access.

Cost of Living

The cost of living is often dependent on various factors like the city in which the person lives, with rents higher usually near the center of the city, the taxation policies, the industry of work, etc. The following table can give us a glimpse into the cost of living in Sweden.

Cost of living based on different cities

The cost of living in Sweden varies greatly according to the type of city one lives in. The cities can therefore be ranked in Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3. Tier 1 cities are those where the cost of living is the highest. However, this also correlates to the fact that in Tier 1 cities, salaries are higher and more opportunities for economic or social needs can be found.

The cities categorized as Tier 1 in Sweden are Stockholm, which is also the capital with a population of 2.35 million and accounts for one-third of the country’s GDP. In fact, Stockholm’s GDP per capita is one of the highest in Europe. Gothenburg is Sweden’s second-largest city on the West Coast of Sweden with nearly 1 million population in the metro. Malmo, the cultural and economic center of South Sweden is the third-largest city in Sweden.

The city with its modern architectural addition is home to many IT and Biotech companies in recent years.

Uppsala and Vasteras are considered to be Tier 2 cities while Orebro, Linkoping, and Helsingborg rank a little lower in common perception.

Sweden has a dynamic job market. Major Industries include:

• Iron and steel
• Motor vehicles
• Processed food
• Precision equipment

Sweden also boasts of some multinational companies, which include the likes of:

• Volvo
• Spotify
• Skype
• H&m

Moreover, The Public Employment Agency in collaboration with Swedish Migration Agency produces a list of in-demand skills and occupations, which includes:

• Architects
• Civil engineers
• Construction workers
• Dentists
• Firefighters
• Interpreters
• Lawyers
• Medical secretaries
• Pharmacists
• Software developers
• Teachers

While some jobs in Sweden require language proficiency, cities like Stockholm and Malmo provide ample opportunities to non-Swedish speakers as well. These cities offer most opportunities in the following sectors :

• Technical/IT like Lead Developer or Integration Security Architect
• Sales and Management like Sales executive or Key Accountant 
• Digital Marketing
• Customer service operator
• Finance and Investment

Other coastal cities like Gothenburg have since long been popular for their commercial fishing hub and its related businesses. However, in the current years, it has been modernized to focus on other sectors like the Automobile industry. Volvo cars are by far the largest private employer in the Gothenburg region.

Hiring Cost

The cost of hiring is an important aspect to consider where immigration is concerned. Like the cost of living, the cost of hiring also depends on several factors such as the importance of the city, either economically or socially, major industries in the city, cost of living in the city, etc. When hiring someone from a place, the hirer must pay close attention to the following costs:

• Onboarding
• Opportunity costs
• Hiring and recruiting
• Training
• Expenses incurred during interviews and screening process
• Travel expenses

Salary Structure for various roles

Employment Laws in Sweden

• The Ministry of Employment is primarily responsible for labor market policy and working life policy. As such, issues such as labor legislation, work environment, working hours, salary, discrimination, and inclusivity fall under its jurisdiction. The labor court is therefore the final decision-making body for settling labor disputes.
• The anti-discrimination legislation prohibits both direct and indirect forms of discrimination and harassment that an employee could face in the workplace. This includes all forms of sexual harassment, harassment based on religion, race, ethnicity, disability, or LGBTQ+ identities.
• The local trade unions further elect representatives to represent the employees at the workplace guided by the Trade Union Representative Act.
• The elected members can further make negotiations, wage revisions, protect worker rights, perform collective bargaining, and sometimes act as a pressure group.
• It is mandatory under Swedish Law that a person’s personal data is protected. Employers, therefore, do not have a free hand in pursuing data of an employee like their medical records or criminal records.
• Under Council Directive 91/533/EEC, Sweden has implemented that an employer must inform the employee of the conditions applicable to the contract of the employment relationship.
• The main laws and statutes governing employment in Sweden are  Employment Protection Act, The Co-Determination Act, The Discrimination Act, the Annual Leave Act, the Personal Data Act, the Parental Leave Act, the Working Hours Act, the Working Environment Act, and the Sick Pay Act.

Sweden Remote Hiring Trends 2024

Increased Demand for Remote Work in Sweden

The COVID-19 pandemic brought a major increase in remote work in Sweden. Pre-pandemic, 37% of employees worked from home here, either part-time or full-time. Now, over 52% of Swedish employees enjoy at least partial work from home.

With a long-standing cultural emphasis on work-life balance, it’s no surprise that Swedish employees now desire a remote work model. In fact, 75% of Swedes want flexibility from their employers when it comes to remote work.

In 2020, 500,000 Swedes identified as self-employed, many of whom are freelancers or contractors for international companies.

Top In-Demand Job Titles in Sweden

The following are five of the top titles being hired remotely in Sweden according to LinkedIn, from greatest to lowest remote availability:

• Software account executives (21%)
• Business development executives (15.5%)
• Data engineers (15.2%)
• Back-end developers (11.8%)
• Talent acquisition specialists (8.5%)

Top Companies Hiring Remotely in Sweden

The top companies currently hiring in Sweden are:

• Ericsson-Worldwide
• Microsoft
• Infosys
• IBM
• Klarna
• ABB

Additionally, hiring activity in the country is also on the rise, with the employment rate increasing by about 1.5% in 2022.

How Can Skuad Help You With Hiring in Sweden?

Hiring in Sweden is a multidimensional process that requires thorough knowledge and know-how of the local laws, trends, customs and traditions, costs of living in different cities, and much more. Skuad, therefore, acts as a multi-faceted solution that specializes in every aspect of recruitment and hiring.  Skuad helps you freely concentrate on your projects while minutely taking care of your requirements. Connect with Skuad Experts to know more.