Working Paper Series, Department of Economics, Uppsala University
No 2002:1:
Temporary Work in Turbulent Times: The Swedish Experience
Bertil Holmlund ()
and Donald Storrie
Abstract: Sweden has experienced a substantial increase in temporary
work over the 1990s, with most of the rise occurring during a severe
macroeconomic recession with mass unemployment. By the early 1990s, workers
on fixed-term contracts accounted for 10 percent of the number of
employees; by the end of the decade they accounted for 16 percent. The
paper presents the Swedish institutional setting, documents basic stylised
facts about fixed-term contracts, and discusses the causes of their
increased prevalence. Our analysis reveals that open-ended and temporary
employment exhibit strikingly different cyclical behaviour with temporary
employment being more volatile. A recession is associated with an initial
decline in temporary employment followed by a sharp rise from the trough to
the end of the recession. We argue that the severe recession of the 1990s
is a major factor behind the rise in temporary work in Sweden. Adverse
macroeconomic conditions make firms more prone to offer fixed-term
contracts and workers more willing to accept them.
Keywords: Temporary jobs; Labour market dynamics; Unemployment; (follow links to similar papers)
JEL-Codes: E32; J64; (follow links to similar papers)
34 pages, December 4, 2001
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- This paper is published as:
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Holmlund, Bertil and Donald Storrie, (2002), 'Temporary Work in Turbulent Times: The Swedish Experience', Economic Journal, Vol. 112, June, pages 245-269
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