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UNEMPLOYMENT

Jobless Swede offers salary as finder’s fee

After being out of work for eleven months, economist Michael Sundblad from Lund, in southern Sweden, decided to try a new approach and is now offering his first month's pay in finder's fee to whomever gets him hired.

Published: 11 November 2011 15:55 CET

”I thought: ‘Almost everyone has a network of people, most people have jobs, and everyone wants money. If I give something, perhaps I will get something back,” Sundblad told The Local.

Sundblad is a trained economist, specializing in international marketing and sales. He has previously worked in Canada and his dream job would involve working in both countries.

During the time he has been unemployed, he has applied for near 300 jobs, only to receive standardized letters declining to give him an interview.

”It is a jungle out there with so many people unemployed at the moment. I felt like all I got was automated response, I couldn’t get my voice heard,” he said.

Born in Canada and with dual citizenship, he was surprised to find that despite being bilingual and having international work experience, he didn’t seem to be able to compete on the Swedish labour market.

The idea to offer his first month’s salary as a finders fee was born out of the frustration of not being able to break through this barrier.

”So this seemed like a new and different approach, and most people could do with some extra money before Christmas,” said Sundblad.

According to fresh figures from Sweden’s National Employment Office (Arbetsförmedlingen) the number of unemployed people in the country has decreased slightly from 8.8 percent of the labour force in November 2010 to 8.2 percent in 2011.

But at the same time, the number of newly registered unemployed has increased.

”We are seeing more clear signs that the strengthening of the labour market is starting to weaken. The latest statistics show an increase in people being laid off and a decrease in the number of unemployed getting hired,” said Clas Olsson, head analyst at the agency to news agency TT, adding that he fears that unemployment figures will rise again.

Sundblad is hoping that his unorthodox attempt of getting hired might turn out to have been a stroke of genius.

Obviously a better paid job will generate a higher finders fee, but to Sundblad it isn’t so much about the salary as it is about getting a chance and trying to find a job in which he can be happy.

As well as an interview in Swedish newspaper Metro, Sundblad has used different social media to reach as many as possible with his unusual request. He has already started to get responses.

”A Stockholm company called me after reading my request and I have set up a meeting with them next week,” Sundblad told The Local.

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BUSINESS

Unemployment in France falls slightly despite the lockdown

Unemployment in France has fallen slightly, despite the ongoing ravages of the health crisis and consequent lockdown, latest statistics show.

Published: 27 April 2021 16:46 CEST
Unemployment in France falls slightly despite the lockdown
Photo: Stephane du Sakatin/AFP

The number of unemployed job seekers in mainland France fell by 0.4 percent in the first three months of 2021, according to figures published by the French Ministry of Labour on Tuesday.

There were 3,560,600 unemployed registered at the Pôle Emploi (unemployment office), 12,200 fewer than during the last three months of 2020.

This follows a 2.7 percent fall in the final three months of 2020 – but the rate is still up 6.8 percent compared with the first three months of 2020, before Europe began to feel the economic impact of the Covid pandemic.

Currently all ‘non essential’ shops in France have been closed since April 3rd, while bars, restaurants, cafés, gyms, cinemas, theatres, museums and tourist sites have been closed since October 2020.

Despite the fall the total number of job seekers, the number of people who were in work but with reduced hours was up by 0.8 percent at the start of 2021, to 2,156,300.

That means that in total 5,716,900 people in mainland France were registered with Pôle emploi during this period, an increase of 4.9 percent compared with a year ago.

“Over the course of 2020, in one year, unemployment rose by 8 percent. This is obviously a lot, but we must remember that during the crisis of 2008-2009, unemployment leapt by 25 percent, so we can see that the government assistance is working,” Minister of Labour Élisabeth Borne told BFMTV on Tuesday.

The French government has put together a huge package of economic aid to try and mitigate the effects of the repeated lockdowns, from chômage partiel (furlough) schemes for employees to aid packages for business owners and the self-employed. But many small retailers have been hit hard by the three periods of closure for non-essential shops, while the tourist, leisure and hospitality sectors have also had a devastating year.

The economic downturn linked to the pandemic has disproportionately affected young people in France.  Across all categories of job seekers (unemployed and with reduced hours), the latest figures show a rise of 7.1 percent in a year for those under 25, compared to 4.5 percent for the 25-29 age range, and 4.8 percent for those aged 50 and over.

Men are also more likely to have signed up to Pôle emploi, with a 6.1 percent increase on last year, compared to a 3.8 percent increase among women.

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