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EMPLOYMENT

Number of people receiving Danish unemployment benefit hits ten-year low

The number of people receiving Danish state income support for unemployment has decreased further since the beginning of 2019.

Published: 11 June 2019 18:16 CEST
Number of people receiving Danish unemployment benefit hits ten-year low
File photo: Thomas Lekfeldt / Ritzau Scanpix

A total of 125,900 people received the basic form of welfare, kontanthjælp in Danish, at the end of the first quarter of this year.

That corresponds to a reduction by 3,400 during the preceding three months and 13,300 over 12 months, according to Statistics Denmark figures published on Tuesday.

The state welfare payment is distinct from the partially-privatized unemployment insurance system, dagpenge, which is accessed by paid membership of a provider known as an A-kasse.

But the figures do include the full range of state unemployment welfare, including that for those re-entering the job market and the reduced form for people granted asylum and their families (integrationsydelsen).

The total number of people receiving the welfare is now at its lowest level since 2009, according to Statistics Denmark. It has fallen sharply since 2015, when it was at around 175,000.

Reforms made by the outgoing government and its predecessor to Denmark’s welfare system have impacted the number of people who receive the benefits, according to Mads Lundby Hansen, senior economist with liberal thinktank Cepos.

The reforms include an upper limit on the amount a household can be entitled to (kontanthjælpsloftet), and a rule which states that after one year of unemployment, an individual must have worked 225 hours within the last three years in order to receive the full benefit.

A strong economy is also a key factor in the trend.

“It’s a positive thing that the number of people receiving (this benefit) fell again in March, and that we now have the lowest number since 2009,” Hansen told Ritzau.

The Economic Council of the Labour Movement (ECLM), a Danish economic policy institute and think-tank, also said the trend was a good sign.

“These are good times in Denmark. There’s competition for labour, which means there is opportunity for people on the margins of the labour force. The reforms played a very small role,” the organization’s senior economist Erik Bjørsted told Ritzau, noting a Finance Ministry report which found that the 225-hour rule and upper limit rule had directly resulted in just 450 people moving from welfare to employment.

Not of all those who have left the benefits system can be guaranteed to have found employment, Ritzau notes – they may be provided for by family or getting by through other means.

READ ALSO: One in ten wage earners in Denmark is a foreign national

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WORKING IN DENMARK

Ten ways to improve your chances of finding a job in Denmark

Job searching in Denmark can be a daunting and lengthy process with many hurdles to overcome. The Local spoke to Kay Xander Mellish, author of 'How to Work in Denmark', for her tips on submitting a successful CV and application.

Published: 12 January 2023 09:44 CET
Updated: 24 October 2023 16:36 CEST
Ten ways to improve your chances of finding a job in Denmark

CVs in Denmark often have certain aspects of layout, presentation and content in common. By writing a CV that sticks to some of these recognisable customs, you may improve your chances of catching the eye of a potential employer.

1. Length

“Keep it to one excellent page, or two if you’re more senior. I’d say if you’re aged 30 and under, one page will be enough. Only add the jobs that are relevant. Employers don’t want to hear about that restaurant server or babysitting job if it’s not relevant to the role,” Mellish said.

2. Format

At the top of your CV, a paragraph describing your experience, skills, education and character is a common way to lead into a CV. This text can be adapted depending on the job you’re applying for and how you want to present your skills.

“Add three adjectives about yourself that you can support with an example, rather than ten adjectives with no story. For example, say you are innovative for this reason. People don’t like hot air in Denmark,” Mellish said.

Aside from the profile text, chronological lists of qualifications, relevant employment history and other relevant experience should be kept brief enough to fit the one to two pages.

3. Show your personal side and a photo

It is expected that applicants include a section about their hobbies, even family situation on their CV in Denmark, as well as a photo, to give a sense of who they are as a person.

“Danish employers are interested in you as a human, more so than employers in other countries so include information about yourself, including your age and your hobbies.

“Choose a good quality photo that is not too serious but shows you looking friendly and approachable,” Mellish said.

4. Story telling

“Think in terms of story telling”, Mellish advised. “Pure letters and numbers don’t mean a lot to employers in Denmark, they need to know what projects you’ve done, what role you played and what kind of person you are through your CV.

“So rather than writing ‘I have these grades’, it’s better to say ‘I worked on this project, it took this long, I achieved this'”, Mellish said.

5. Hit the ground running

Mellish called this “plug and play”, where you show you will slot right into the company and get going with the role.

“When employers are reading your CV, they want to know what you can do on day one of the job. Sell your ability to solve someone’s problem. You need to give the impression you can add value straight away.

“In Denmark the average length of time in a job is two and a half years, because you can take your pension when you move, so employers don’t want someone they need to spend time training,” Mellish told The Local.

READ ALSO: Five tips for writing an effective Danish CV

6. Teamwork

“Group work is very important in Denmark, more than individual achievements. So talk about your teamwork and how you worked with a group to produce a good business result. It shouldn’t be ‘me, me, me’ – that’s a turn off,” Mellish said.

7. LinkedIn

“People in Denmark love LinkedIn so you need a fabulous LinkedIn profile with a good picture. Before anyone calls you for an interview they’ll have looked at your LinkedIn profile.

“In your profile, include the storytelling, explaining the projects you’ve worked on. If your job involves a uniform, I recommend wearing it in your LinkedIn photo so people get that impression of you right away. Your background photo should also be work-related, not rainbows or puppies. Use it to tell the story of who you are,” Mellish advised.

8. Unsolicited application

This is when you approach a company or department you would like to work for, without a job being advertised. The Danish term for it is uopfordret ansøgning. 

“Many people make contact on LinkedIn and ask to meet for a coffee, where they chat and rather than pitch for a job, they ask if the person knows anyone looking for someone like them. Danish employers welcome this and many people are hired this way,” Mellish said.

Another way to network is to join a union, Mellish advised. They often have career events but can also help read your contract when you get a job offer, or help with any problems in the workplace. 

9. Ring the recruiter

The phone number of the hiring manager will often be in the job advert. Mellish advised finding a quiet place to ring them from and spending ten to fifteen minutes asking some good business questions.

“This also helps you work out if you might want to work for this person,” Mellish said.

“Send your CV within 24 hours of the phone call and mention you spoke to them in your application,” she added.

10. Patience

“On average it can take six months to find a job in Denmark. If it’s under this, you’re lucky. If it takes a year, it’s not you, it just takes a long time because employers are looking for someone to fit into their team.

“I wrote 100 letters, I got ten responses, three interviews and one job which I had for eight years,” Mellish told The Local.

“Danish employers are not always good at getting back to you. If you don’t hear anything, just keep applying for other jobs. If you sent an application on June 1st, you could send a follow-up email on June 15th, then you’ll have to leave it and move on,” she advised. 

Kay Xander Mellish’s book ‘How to Work in Denmark’ offers both job-searching advice and tips on how to succeed in the Danish workplace.

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