History
“Help-funds”, the first form of unemployment insurance in Sweden, were created in the 1870s, already closely linked to trade unions. Since the institution of local employment offices in 1930s, in the climate of Keynesian policies, the State has begun to finance the unemployment benefits; since the 1940s, the insurances’ aim was to «provide economic support during a "transitional period" when the individual who lost his/her employment or left school actively seeks a new employment». In 1948 the employment offices were nationalized and the National Labour Market Board (Arbetsmarknadstyrelsen - AMS) was established as the central authority, charged also with the task of supervising the voluntary employment relief funds, subsidized and controlled by the unions. Since 2004 this last task has been taken over by the Unemployment Insurance Board (IAF).
In fact, the labour market policies in the after-war were built upon two concepts: the “active labour market policy” and the task of the unemployment insurance to support the readjustments of individuals to the labour market. To have this effect, the unemployment insurances had to have some features:
| “ | It should not be paid unless the individual has the possibility to take on work during at least a minimum number of hours each week. It should require that the individual looks for work actively. It should require of the individual to participate in labour market programmes which aim at supporting the individual's possibilities to reenter into the labour market. The person should not in the long run be allowed to look only for the same kind of job as they had before or have the training for. The person should not in the long run be allowed to look only for a job within a limited geographical area. | ” |
Read more about this topic: Unemployment Benefits In Sweden
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