Temporary Work in Turbulent Times: The Swedish Experience

The prevalence of fixed-term contracts is particularly visible among women, the young and
foreign-born residents, and especially among young women. The higher fixed-term contract
intensity of foreign-born residents is primarily to be found among the 25 to 44 year olds and is
double that of native Swedes. By the turn of the century, 18 percent of the female employees
were on fixed-term contracts, a figure to be compared with 13 percent for the male employees.
The trend rise in temporary work is striking for both men and women. Among young women
aged 16-24, close to 60 percent were in temporary work by the end of the century; the
corresponding share for young men was around 40 percent. There is a marked trend rise in
temporary work also among the young.

It is also worth noting that fixed-term contracts account for a much higher share of the total
flow of new hires than of the total stock of employment. Available data for the private sector
reveal that fixed-term contracts accounted for roughly 50 percent of all new hires in the late
1980s. By the late 1990s, they accounted for some 70 percent.⁵

3.2 Sector Distribution and Types of Fixed-Term Contracts

Temporary work has increased in every broad sector of the economy; see Table 3.1. Two sectors
stand out. Financial and Business services exhibit both the greatest increase in fixed-term
contract rate and share of all fixed-term contracts while Health and Care show the lowest growth
rates in both these figures. We note, however, that the Health and care sector still accounts for
one quarter of all fixed-term contracts in the labour market.

Labour law permits different forms of fixed-term contracts defined in terms of the
employer’s motivation to employ labour for a specified duration. Figure 3.3 shows the number

work accounted on average for 10.6 percent of the total number of employees during 1984-87.

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