IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/ecoind/v45y2024i4p1090-1111.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Have low-paid jobs increased in the Swedish labor market? Defining low pay in the context of the Nordic model

Author

Listed:
  • Johan Alfonsson

    (School of Education, Humanities and Social Sciences, Halmstad University, Sweden; Department of Sociology and Work Science, University of Gothenburg, Sweden)

  • Tomas Berglund
  • Patrik Vulkan

    (Department of Sociology and Work Science, University of Gothenburg, Sweden)

Abstract

Can the Nordic wage-setting model, where social partners decide wages through collective agreements, counteract a growing low-paid sector? This article tests four definitions of low-paid jobs to analyze whether this sector has grown for the period 2005–2020 in Sweden. Despite policy changes pointing towards growth, all definitions show a slight decrease in low-paid jobs over time. The authors argue that the industrial relations system, with the aim of keeping the industry wage increases in check to aid export competitiveness, also sets a uniform level wage that limits low-paid jobs. It is also found that low pay in the Swedish setting is partly a result of working less than full-time or having unstable employment, and service workers and those with low education are becoming increasingly common in this position.

Suggested Citation

  • Johan Alfonsson & Tomas Berglund & Patrik Vulkan, 2024. "Have low-paid jobs increased in the Swedish labor market? Defining low pay in the context of the Nordic model," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 45(4), pages 1090-1111, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ecoind:v:45:y:2024:i:4:p:1090-1111
    DOI: 10.1177/0143831X231215597
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0143831X231215597
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0143831X231215597?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:ecoind:v:45:y:2024:i:4:p:1090-1111. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.ekhist.uu.se/english.htm .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.