Integration is a process!

The purpose of this research project is to analyse career pathways that lead to successful labour market participation of immigrants in Sweden, focusing on the role of individual and locational characteristics.

The method of sequential analysis allows us to capture labour market integration as a process instead of observing single outcomes. In addition, narrated life-stories of immigrants allow for analysing subjective experiences of successful labour outcomes. By combining these quantitative and qualitative methods, this research project can contribute uniquely to the understanding of integration processes and is thus at the fore-front of the international research frontier. Besides the scientific contribution, the project is important from a societal and policy perspective since immigrants are heavily underrepresented on the Swedish labour market at the same time as Swedish firms experience severe challenges with competence supply. In addition, we often observe large geographical and social separations between immigrants and native Swedes, which may hinder the integration into both the labour market and the society. The recent surge of immigration to Sweden has further accentuated the importance of studying pathways that produce desirable labour market outcomes, from the perspective of the individual immigrants as well as regions and the country as a whole.

The main research questions to be addressed in the project are i) what common career pathways can be observed among immigrants, ii) which individual career steps lead to successful labour market participation, and iii) which individual and locational (neighbourhood and local labour market) characteristics increase the chances of entering a career pathway that lead to successful labour market outcomes. Based on the proposed analysis, we aim to provide evidence-based policy advice that enhances the labour market integration of immigrants.

Project financier: FORTE - Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare External link, opens in new window.