Iordan Palma Tzakov’s Post

The move to raise the work permit threshold from 80% to 90% of Sweden’s median salary says a lot — not just about numbers, but about the mindset of “new Sweden.” Both employer and employee unions opposed it, yet the government went ahead without listening. This isn’t collaboration; it’s a top-down decision. Sweden’s strength has always been built on dialogue and trust between stakeholders. Ignoring that foundation doesn’t modernize the system — it dismantles the model that made Sweden successful and open to global talent.

50 years in 50 facts Since 2017, both unemployment and long-term unemployment have been falling across most EU Member States. However, a few countries saw an increase: 🇩🇰 Denmark, 🇪🇪 Estonia, 🇭🇺 Hungary, 🇱🇹 Lithuania, and 🇱🇺 Luxembourg recorded higher unemployment rates, while 🇸🇪 Sweden experienced a rise in both unemployment and long-term unemployment. Read more about convergence trends in the EU in the Policy Brief by Massimiliano Mascherini 'From Gothenburg to Porto: Upward convergence through the European Pillar of Social Rights': https://ow.ly/YFvb50X7Tyq

In Sweden, labour market conditions are no longer deteriorating. The unemployment rate decreased to 8.7% in September, while the employment rate also declined, to 68.8%. The data released today suggest that Sweden's labour market has stabilised, writes Emma Paulsson.

New paper with Jorge Saraiva and Kiyohiro Ikeda, just out of the oven! The paper was largely motivated by the Brexit narrative, but its scope is broader and may contribute to the general discussion around the impacts of unilateral withdrawals from economic unions. Many thanks to my co-authors for their remarkable contributions! Abstract We study how the unilateral withdrawal of a region from an economic union affects the spatial distribution of economic activity and social welfare. We explore a three-region economic geography model under the assumption that this withdrawal can be expressed as a higher transportation cost between the leaving party and the remaining union members. We find that it is not stable for industry to become concentrated only between the remaining union regions and that asymmetric equilibria—in which the withdrawn region has the lowest share of industry—arise. We show that the share of industry in the withdrawn region increases as the differential in transportation costs and the global immobility of workers decrease. Finally, we also conclude that the economy as a whole attains its maximum social welfare when most of the industry is not in the withdrawn region.

The Trump administration has finally admitted that their attacks on immigrants have caused a serious labor shortage, risking the stability of our entire food system. Earlier this month, the Department of Labor stated that US-born workers do not have the interest or the skill to replace immigrant labor in the ag industry, and that this problem will just keep getting worse. This gets to the heart of how industrial ag stays in business: immigrants get funneled into ag jobs because the work is uniquely brutal and exploitative, and that's exactly why US-born workers aren't stepping up to fill those roles. Changing that requires challenging decades of lobbying from Big Ag to keep their labor costs low and their profits high. To fully understand how we got here and why Big Ag wants an immigrant labor force, read our blog post by Senior Staff Attorney Amal Bouhabib ➡️ https://lnkd.in/gD36ABD3

“To keep labor costs low and profits high, Big Ag needs a labor force it can exploit: people willing to accept low wages, dangerous conditions, and abuse without speaking up. People who have no choice.”

Eurostat: In 2024, the EU’s employment rate was at a historical high of 75.8%.    📈 Among EU regions, highest employment rates in: 1️⃣ The archipelago of Åland in Finland (86.4%) 2️⃣ Warszawski stołeczny, the Polish capital region (86.2%)  3️⃣ Bratislavský kraj, the Slovak capital region (85.4%) 📉 Lowest employment rates 1️⃣ Calabria (48.5%) 2️⃣ Campania (49.4%) 3️⃣ Sicilia (50.7%) Read more: https://lnkd.in/da3gBRTN

fascinating analysis showing strong labour market protections don't have to mean countries creating barriers to establish and do business in. Neths and Denmark in top 10 of easiest countries despite decent protections for workers https://lnkd.in/epfS7VP4

In Italy, a worrying trend is reshaping the labor market: the spread of “pirate contracts”, or collective agreements signed by non-representative organizations offering worse pay and conditions than official national contracts. According to a recent Confcommercio report, this phenomenon, known as contractual dumping, is damaging both workers and businesses. What’s happening • Over 1,000 national contracts are currently filed, but only a fraction are signed by representative unions. • In commerce and tourism, there are more than 250 different contracts, many with lower pay and fewer rights. • Workers covered by these agreements can lose up to €8,000 gross per year, face longer hours, and lack welfare protections. Why it matters This race to the bottom doesn’t just reduce wages; it also distorts competition. Legitimate companies are penalized, productivity suffers, and inequality deepens. Even President Sergio Mattarella warned that “many families now live below the poverty line despite having at least one employed member,” while a few managers earn hundreds of times more than their workers. Contract dumping is a challenge to social cohesion and economic fairness.

OECD Improving Active Labour Market Policies in Spain: Lessons from a Qualitative Assessment [30 October 2025] https://lnkd.in/gSa3czxr or https://lnkd.in/gSaGD4Hq   The report presents the findings of a qualitative assessment exercise covering 38 active labour market programmes (ALMPs) implemented under Spain’s Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP), and managed either by the State Public Employment Service (SEPE) or by regional public employment services. The assessment is structured around nine criteria covering the full ALMP cycle, from evidence-based design and effective outreach, through implementation and delivery of support, to monitoring and evaluation to inform decision making. The report identifies good practices across Spain and offers targeted recommendations to support mutual learning and guide the future development of ALMPs across the Spanish National Employment System. This report on Spain is the twentieth in a series of country reports on policies to connect people with better jobs.