Immigrants’ Prospects on the Labor Market, Occupational Change, and Unequal Opportunities in Sweden

This study focuses on immigrants’ labor market prospects in Sweden and their subsequent opportunities for mobility in the occupational structure with particular reference to the likelihood that immigrants of European and non-European origins work in low and high-paid jobs. We use data from the Swedish Labor Force Survey and compare outcomes of two key periods: 1998–2000 and 2012–2014. Our findings reveal an increasing ethnicization of the occupational structure, as the number of immigrants in low-paid employment has increased over time. We also find tendencies of polarization of the occupational structure that have not been conducive to equal opportunities for immigrants on the Swedish labor market who face various disadvantages and migration history penalties. Immigrants of non-European descent are at particular risk of working in low-paid employment and of having fewer opportunities for high-paid jobs. Thus, recent changes in the Swedish occupational structure contribute toward reinforcing ethnic inequalities and severely challenge the notion and ideal of Swedish equality.