Introductory remarks

The frequency of part-time work in Sweden is high, one of the highest in Europe. The Netherlands is reported to have the highest number of part-timers in Europe, followed by the UK, Sweden and Denmark. The current trend in Sweden, however, is that the number of part-timers is on the decrease. It is current government policy to reduce the large number of involuntary, i.e. underemployed, part-timers. The Swedish unemployment insurance scheme, as applied to the underemployed, has inherent defects particularly with regards to part-timers; in another context a Government Commission Report calls part-time work a ‘women's trap’. A huge number of part-timers is not necessarily a good omen. The EC Part-time Directive, whose basis is in part intended to encourage the growth of part-time employment, has received a cool reception in Sweden that is reflected in the Government Bill submitted to Parliament on 20 February 2002.

Why did part-time work reach high levels?

Tax reform

The impetus for part-time employment in Sweden was the tax reform of 1970, when it was declared that, if both were employed, husband and wife were to be taxed separately, i.e. independently of the other spouse's income. A discussion related to the independence of women had started in the 1960s, the tenor of this debate being that women should have jobs with an income and their own identity outside the home, which would give them a better pension. The Sweden of the 1960s was also characterised by a shortage of manpower.