Mismatch, long-term unemployment and post-COVID labour market programmes in the Nordic countries

This paper explores post-pandemic developments and analyses post-COVID matching dynamics in the Nordic labour markets. It also discusses the role of institutions and the policies implemented to address labour market mismatch in the region. The COVID-19 pandemic brought about a recession, with a rapid and sizeable downturn in the Nordic labour markets. They rebounded rapidly, however, and most aggregate measures of labour market performance returned to pre-pandemic levels in 2021. Employment rates continued to rise and exceeded pre-pandemic levels in the first quarter of 2023. Meanwhile, high vacancy and unemployment rates continued to coexist after the pandemic. However, Sweden is the only Nordic country to show signs, albeit ambiguous ones, of increased labour market mismatch after the pandemic.