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Foreigners taking fewer jobs in Denmark: report

Ritzau/The Local
Ritzau/The Local - [email protected]
Foreigners taking fewer jobs in Denmark: report
File photo: Stine Bidstrup/Polfoto/Ritzau

Danish employers are experiencing increasing difficulty in filling jobs due in part to a fall in foreign citizens coming to work in the country.

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An analysis from the Confederation of Danish Employers (Danmarks Arbejdsgiverforening, DA) is the latest study to report the growing need for foreign labour force in the Scandinavian country, reports Finans.dk, the financial arm of newspaper Jyllands-Posten.

The Confederation of Danish Industry (Dansk industri) has previously raised concern about the issue.

DA’s figures show that the number of EU citizens coming to Denmark to work has fallen by 65 percent in the space of 15 months.

That statistic is related to a sharp decrease in Polish citizens taking jobs in Denmark, according to the report.

The number of newcomers from other EU countries has also fallen sharply since the second quarter of 2016. The number of arrivals in Denmark from EU countries has fallen from 14,500 in that period to under 5,000 in 2017’s third quarter.

EU citizens took 87 percent of newly-created jobs in 2013 compared to 11 percent currently, according to the analysis.

“It is very, very concerning that the movement of European labour to Denmark from Poland and Eastern Europe has gone from a strong, flowing river to a small, still stream.

“If the flow from Eastern Europe dries up, we could quickly end up short of qualified people,” DA’s director Jacob Holbraad told Finans.dk.

The trend can partly be attributed to improved wages and living standards in Eastern Europe.

Danish Economic Council (Det Økonomiske Råd) advisor Michaer Svarrer also told Finans.dk that the trend was cause for concern for Denmark.

“There will be consequences for Danish businesses as well as for how much public finance can grow,” Svarrer said.

Employment minister Troels Lund Poulsen said that there was a risk of companies leaving Denmark if there was a lack of available labour.

The minister told Finans.dk that he would look into initiatives to boost the available Danish and foreign work force. 

READ ALSO: More must be done to draw international workers to Denmark: DI

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