’Record number’ of foreigners move to Denmark for work

A record number of people moved to Denmark from abroad for work reasons in 2022, according to national agency Statistics Denmark.
A total of 31,600 people moved to Denmark to work last yer, according to a Statistics Denmark review released on Tuesday.
The figure corresponds to a 24 percent increase compared to 2021 and is the highest in the history of the statistic, which goes back to 1997.
The average number of work immigrants in the decade prior to 2022 was 21,000 people.
Specifically, the number describes the amount of people who were given work permits in Denmark in a given year.
The fact that the statistic has reached a historical high is remarkable, according to an economist.
“In a time with a major labour shortage, Danish businesses have succeeded in recruiting labour from abroad. That is a big success story, which certainly ensures growth and stability in the Danish economy in the period after the coronavirus pandemic,” senior economist Tore Stramer of the Danish Chamber of Commerce told news wire Ritzau.
“The large inflow of foreign labour has held of a threatening overheating of the labour market and ensured stable high growth in the economy,” he said.
READ ALSO: Danish parliament set to vote through relaxed work permit rules
Broken down by nationality, the largest proportion of people moving to Denmark to work came from EU countries in Eastern Europe.
Some 6,000 Romanian nationals were granted Danish work permits in 2022, with 3,700 coming from Poland.
Employment levels in Denmark continue to set records, confounding an uncertain economic outlook and high inflation.
READ ALSO: Danish economy defies headwinds to grow by 3.6 percent
Foreign labour is a driving factor for high employment levels, Stramer said.
“The large inflow of foreign labour has been the absolute primary factor behind the strong rise in employment in recent years,” he said.
“Specifically, foreign labour has driven around 40 percent of the overall increase in employment over the last three years,” he said.
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A total of 31,600 people moved to Denmark to work last yer, according to a Statistics Denmark review released on Tuesday.
The figure corresponds to a 24 percent increase compared to 2021 and is the highest in the history of the statistic, which goes back to 1997.
The average number of work immigrants in the decade prior to 2022 was 21,000 people.
Specifically, the number describes the amount of people who were given work permits in Denmark in a given year.
The fact that the statistic has reached a historical high is remarkable, according to an economist.
“In a time with a major labour shortage, Danish businesses have succeeded in recruiting labour from abroad. That is a big success story, which certainly ensures growth and stability in the Danish economy in the period after the coronavirus pandemic,” senior economist Tore Stramer of the Danish Chamber of Commerce told news wire Ritzau.
“The large inflow of foreign labour has held of a threatening overheating of the labour market and ensured stable high growth in the economy,” he said.
READ ALSO: Danish parliament set to vote through relaxed work permit rules
Broken down by nationality, the largest proportion of people moving to Denmark to work came from EU countries in Eastern Europe.
Some 6,000 Romanian nationals were granted Danish work permits in 2022, with 3,700 coming from Poland.
Employment levels in Denmark continue to set records, confounding an uncertain economic outlook and high inflation.
READ ALSO: Danish economy defies headwinds to grow by 3.6 percent
Foreign labour is a driving factor for high employment levels, Stramer said.
“The large inflow of foreign labour has been the absolute primary factor behind the strong rise in employment in recent years,” he said.
“Specifically, foreign labour has driven around 40 percent of the overall increase in employment over the last three years,” he said.
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