The common Nordic labour market has enabled Nordic citizens to move freely and take up a job in another Nordic country for 70 years and even longer. Looking back, we find that during certain periods of time, when unemployment was high in some parts of the Nordic Region and vacancies existed in others, people moved to another Nordic country to obtain a job and potentially have better living conditions. A large part of that migration was of a temporary nature, since the Nordic migration data suggest that re-migration was also common.
Migration from Finland to Sweden, numbering close to 500,000 migrants in the 1960s and 1970s, stands out as unique in intra-Nordic migration history. The main push factors for the outmigration from Finland were high unemployment, strikes and unrest on the Finnish labour market. Seasonal working in Sweden and having education in Sweden was common, which facilitated the decision to move. Other examples of high migration between Nordic countries include high numbers of people moving from Denmark to Sweden in 1975, as well as high levels of migration from Iceland in the 1980s and also later, mainly related to developments in the fishing industry and economic downturns. Pull factors also played a role, attracting people from one Nordic country to another, such as a booming industry with many available jobs, higher salaries, better working conditions, lower costs of living and higher quality of life. The migration from Finland to Sweden was further supported by the fact that studying and seasonal working in Sweden had previously been common, and increased accessibility with new and improved ferry connections between Finland and Sweden.
However, the 1990s marked a shift in Nordic migration patterns. One of the reasons for that shift may have been the convergence in GDP per capita across the four large Nordic countries during the 1990s, which may have reduced incentives to move within the Nordic Region (Pedersen & Røed, 2008). Since the 2000s, migration between the Nordic countries has declined. In comparison to total emigration, as many as 20% of Nordic migrants still choose to move to another Nordic country (2022), although that figure has also been decreasing. That indicates that over time the Nordic countries have become less popular destinations to move to compared to other countries.
In 2023, some 450,000 Nordic people, or 1.6% of the Nordic population, lived in a Nordic country other than the country where they were born. While relatively more people choose to migrate to another Nordic country in the self-governing territories of the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Åland and Iceland, the largest flows of intra-Nordic migration are found between Finland and Sweden and Norway and Sweden.
The downward trend in migration between the Nordic countries may be explained by several factors. One is the convergence of GDP per capita and that the Nordic countries have been impacted by the same macroeconomic crises during the last decades and have largely followed the same economic cycles, meaning that there have been fewer economic incentives to move to another Nordic country. Another possible explanation is that people may move abroad to gain new experiences and explore different cultures. Increased globalisation, along with European freedom of movement and many similarities between the Nordic countries, may simply have made it less appealing to move within the Nordic Region.
The literature on migration speaks about a combination of push and pull factors. The prospects of a better life involves a combination of material and socioeconomic factors, as well as subjective experiences of health, wellbeing and satisfaction in life. Previous studies based on interviews confirm that it is a combination of economic, social and cultural factors that work as pull and push factors for moving to a job in another Nordic country (Lundgren & Bogason, 2022). Given the overall high standards of living in all the Nordic welfare states, it may be questioned whether the pull and push factors are sufficiently strong to actually prompt more people to move?
However, when moving to another Nordic country, some countries and regions are more popular among Nordic migrants than others. Proximity seems to play a crucial role (spatial, linguistic and cultural proximity), with higher levels of migration and commuting in border regions. The migration data suggests that while Icelanders seems to be the most spread out over the Nordic territory, Finns represent the largest working age population living in another country. Sweden and Åland has the largest old-age population from another Nordic country.
Taking up a job in another Nordic country does not necessarily necessitate moving country since commuting is also a possibility. For evident reasons, that is mainly a possibility in cross-border areas such as the Öresund region, Innlandet-Värmland and Torneå-Haparanda, although commuting may also mean long-distance commuting. Throughout history, close relationships have developed in the cross-border areas. The possibility of commuting means extended labour markets. That may have important implications both for employment and the regional economy. Like with migration patterns, patterns of commuting, such as in the Öresund area, indicate that higher wages and better career and life opportunities play a role.
However, while data on migration can easily be accessed, data on commuting are not collected to the same extent and do not tend to be shared between the Nordic countries, making it difficult to assess the magnitude and the impact of commuting. Cross-border organisations such as Ørestat and regional authorities in the cross-border areas, in collaboration with the national statistical offices, have endeavoured to compensate for the lack of comparable national statistical data. While the Covid-19 pandemic meant a downturn in commuting, figures have since been on the rise.
However, for both Nordic migration and cross-border commuting, many studies point to administrative barriers hampering further mobility. Legislation regarding taxation, social security, access to an electronic ID, citizenship of a third country or validation of education complicate working and may prevent or deter people from taking up a job in another Nordic country (Giacometti & Wøien Meijer, 2021; Lundgren & Wøien Meijer, 2022; Lundgren & Bogason, 2022). That has been articulated in times of crises in particular, such as the refugee crisis of 2015-16 and the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020-21, when cross-border commuters and workers had to contend with increased travel times due to cross-border restrictions, insecurity about rules and regulations in relation to working from home and also a lack of trust among fellow colleagues and citizens. That came as a shock to many, especially in those cross-border areas with a high degree of interaction (Giacometti & Wøien Meijer, 2021; Svinesundskommittén, 2024).
In the past decades and especially during and after the pandemic, remote working (also referred to as distance working, working from home, flexible working or multilocality) and hybrid working which means working part-time at a permanent workplace and part-time remotely has come to play a more important role in the Nordic Region. In 2022, it was estimated that approximately 40% of all jobs in the Nordic Region could be performed remotely (Randall et al., 2022). More recent figures show even higher levels than 40% working remotely in most countries (Granath Hansson & Gudmundsdottir, 2024). However, the possibility of working remotely is dependent on access to fast broadband, a type of job that can actually be performed remotely, employers amenable to remote working, as well as access to commuting opportunities. This means that issues of connectivity and accessibility play a key role, not only for migration and commuting on the common Nordic labour market, but also with respect to working remotely. However, the option to work remotely means that work can be performed anywhere, suggesting that the Nordic Region is competing with other attractive places around the world.
The common Nordic labour market serves two main objectives: enabling individuals to search for a job in a wider labour market area – which may both increase earnings and reduce the risk of unemployment – and dampening economic cycles by attracting labour during economic upswings and reducing unemployment though emigration during downswings (Pedersen and Wadensjö, 2008). The data presented in this report show that, to some extent, that has been the case during the 70 years of the common Nordic labour market. In the final chapter of this report, we will discuss further the role of Nordic institutions and organisations in fostering development of the common Nordic labour market.