Swedes and Danes in Oslo hardest hit by Corona unemployment

While Swedes and Danes struggled in the labour market when the Corona crisis hit Norway, Somalis managed best, figures from Nav show.

When the Corona restrictions were introduced in Norway at the beginning of March, it brought several thousands into unemployment. And the Corona crisis affected workers differently according to their backgrounds, writes Aftenposten.

Currently 1,747 Swedes in Oslo are fully or partially unemployed. In February, the same number was 235. Unemployment for Danes in the capital has multiplied, and there are now 266 unemployed.

The figures are related to what kind of job they had when the Corona crisis hit, the research leader Jon Rogstad in Fafo points out .

– Many from Sweden work in the service industry and in other industries that were completely closed down. The figures reflect where people were working when Norway was shut down, he tells the newspaper.

Overall, the unemployment rate in Oslo was 354 per cent in the period from February. Furloughed employees are also included in the statistics.

For people of Somali background, unemployment was much lower. There was an increase of 108 per cent in the same period, and 1,488 unemployed are now registered, compared with 714 in February.

The explanation is that people of Somali background work in industries that were not hit as hard, such as the taxi industry, other transport professions and the cleaning industry.