Employment during the covid 19 pandemic for graduates from upper secondary school 2019 and 2020
Smaller share of employed persons among those who completed upper secondary school during the pandemic
Statistical news from Statistics Sweden 2021-04-07 9.30
Graduates from upper secondary school who completed their studies in 2020 were in employment to a smaller extent during their graduation year compared with graduates in 2019. During certain months, the proportion of employed persons was about 10 percentage points lower than for graduates the previous year, although the extent varied between different upper secondary programmes.
The entrance on the labour market for young people and recent graduates is hampered during economic crises. Companies tend to reduce their recruitment during recessions, which may affect young people’s introduction on the labour market. In the academic year 2019/20, during the COVID-19 pandemic, 80 300 people completed upper secondary school. Among these, a majority, about 70 percent, completed an upper education preparatory programme, while the remainder, just over 30 percent, completed a vocational programme. The proportion of employed persons in the second half of the year was lower among those who completed upper secondary school during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 compared with graduates in 2019.
The largest difference in the proportion of employed persons among students in a vocational programme was among those who studied the Restaurant Management and Food Programme and the Hotel and Tourism Programme. Here, the difference in the proportion of employed persons between 2019 and 2020 varies between 10 and 15 percentage points in the second half of the year. The hospitality and restaurant business sectors have been severely affected by restrictions and recommendations introduced during the pandemic.
In some vocational programmes, the differences are considerably less between 2019 and 2020. This primarily refers to the Health and Social Care Programme, in which the proportion of employed persons remained virtually unchanged in 2020 compared with 2019. Understandably, there was a great need for workers with an education in health and social care in 2020.
Definitions and explanations
Statistics Sweden’s register on employer declarations at individual level (AGI) is used to classify whether or not a person is employed. This register contains information on salary and benefit payments from employers at individual level collected on a monthly basis from the Swedish Tax Agency.
This survey uses information on "cash remuneration as a basis for employer social security contributions and special payroll taxes on earned income" from the AGI register to create an indication of employment status. If a person has received such a salary payment of more than SEK 99 in the current month, they are classified as employed.
Further information is available in the section Metod och framställning in the report Inträdet på arbetsmarknaden under coronapandemin. Anställning och löneutbetalning bland gymnasieexaminerade 2019 och 2020 (see below).
Publication
A more detailed presentation of the results are available in the report (with a summary in English)
Inträdet på arbetsmarknaden under coronapandemin. Anställning och löneutbetalning bland gymnasieexaminerade 2019 och 2020
Feel free to use the facts from this statistical news but remember to state Source: Statistics Sweden.