Labour market · cohort analysis
Labour market by cohort
Employment and income years 1, 3, 5, 10 and 15 after residence permit — by arrival cohort and permit ground. Later cohorts establish themselves more slowly than the 2000s cohort, and the income gap to native-born remains large even after 15 years.
Sources: SCB STATIV/LISA, Delmi 2022:9, Aldén & Hammarstedt IFAU 2016.
How we measureEmployment →
Employment rate per cohort
Share (%) employed 20–64 yrs, refugees and family migrants, per year since residence permit. RAMS register data, age-standardised.
| Years in Sweden | 2000 | 2005 | 2010 | 2015 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 year | 18 % | 16 % | 14 % | 12 % | 13 % |
| 3 year | 38 % | 33 % | 30 % | 27 % | 31 % |
| 5 year | 51 % | 46 % | 42 % | 38 % | — |
| 10 year | 62 % | 56 % | 50 % | 43 % | — |
| 15 year | 65 % | 60 % | 53 % | — | — |
How we measureUppehållsgrund →
Employment after 5 years, by permit ground
Large variation: labour migration and EU migration establish themselves quickly; asylum and family migration considerably slower.
| Permit ground | Employed after 5 years | Volume/year |
|---|---|---|
| Labour migration | 91 % | ~10 000/år |
| EU/EEA & Switzerland | 82 % | ~25 000/år |
| Family migrant (other) | 55 % | ~30 000/år |
| Family migrant to refugee | 38 % | ~12 000/år |
| Refugee (asylum) | 38 % | ~9 000/år |
| Quota refugee | 25 % | ~5 000/år |
How we measureInkomster →
Median earned income per cohort
kSEK/year, 2023 prices. Compared to native-born in the same age group.
| Years in Sweden | 2000 | 2005 | 2010 | 2015 | Native ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 year | 165 | 152 | 138 | 121 | 295 |
| 10 year | 232 | 215 | 192 | 168 | 348 |
| 15 year | 268 | 248 | 218 | — | 372 |
| 20 year | 290 | 265 | — | — | 388 |