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Today in Sweden: A round-up of the latest news on Tuesday

Find out what's going on in Sweden today with The Local's short round-up of the news in less than five minutes.

Today in Sweden: A round-up of the latest news on Tuesday
Christmas decorations in Helsingborg, which is warning its residents of record coronavirus infections. Photo: Johan Nilsson/TT

New school ranking to be revealed today

A new international school ranking is set to be published at 10am today, with Swedes eagerly waiting to find out how fourth- and eight-graders (ages roughly 10 and 14) performed in mathematics and natural sciences.

Last time the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (Timss) was carried out, in 2016, both grades improved their scores, which continued a positive trend for grade four and reversed the previous negative trend for grade eight.

The Swedish results are to be presented by the National Agency for Education at 10am.

Swedish vocabulary: natural sciences – naturvetenskap


File photo of a Swedish classroom in 2019. Photo: Alexander Olivera/TT

Handbook to lay out rules of home working

Everyone in Sweden is currently urged to work from home, if the nature of their work allows, to help curb the spread of coronavirus in the country (although you don't have an automatic right to work from home and your employer can make you return to the office if they believe it is necessary).

If your company has moved to home-working, in Sweden this entitles you to a safe working environment, but concerns have been raised that not all employers are doing their part. The government has now asked the Swedish Work Environment Authority and the Public Health Agency to put together a handbook for employers, outlining their responsibilities when it comes to keeping home-working employees safe.

“This guidance would make it very concrete what's expected of employers and ultimately it could mean that if you go against this you will be forced to pay damages,” Employment Minister Eva Nordmark told Swedish public radio broadcaster Ekot.

Swedish vocabulary: work from home – jobba/arbeta hemifrån


You are still entitled to a safe working environment, even if you're working from home. Photo: Jessica Gow/TT

End of an era? Ikea scraps its catalogue

Swedish flatpack furniture retailer Ikea has announced an end to its annual catalogue, ending a 70-year tradition. The catalogues offered a snapshot on contemporary living that made them intensely popular, with circulation reaching a peak in 2016, when 200 million copies in 32 different languages were distributed worldwide.

But as fewer people were reading the printed catalogue as online shopping soared, the retailer said it had taken the “decision to respectfully end the successful career of the Ikea Catalogue”.

Swedish vocabulary: furniture – möbler


The Ikea catalogue. Photo: Anders Andersson/TT

Could matching skilled immigrants with employers help fill the gaps in Sweden's workforce?

Sweden is facing a shortage of skilled workers, but qualified immigrants often struggle to find employment that fits their education. One programme in southern Sweden aims to match newcomers with employers to help get them into IT jobs.

This article is part of The Local's series Changing the Narrative. Articles in this series are written by student or early career journalists who took part in The Local's training course on solutions-focused migration reporting. Read the full article here.

Swedish vocabulary: employer – arbetsgivare

Readers reveal: These are the coronavirus measures we'd like to see in Sweden

Face masks, legally enforced recommendations, limits on public transport, or less strict requirements: these were some of the measures Sweden's international residents suggested introducing to curb the spread of coronavirus when we quizzed The Local's readers. We've just published this article on Tuesday morning – read it here.

Swedish vocabulary: readers – läsare


A sign in Helsingborg urging people to be considerate and keep a distance. Photo: Johan Nilsson/TT

Swedish city Helsingborg raises coronavirus alarm

Council officials in southern city Helsingborg have raised concerns of record spread of coronavirus infection in the city, with 687 new cases per 100,000 people in the week starting November 23rd. “We have the highest spread of infection in Skåne and among the highest in Sweden,” statistician Henrik Persson told a press conference.

That same week, the corresponding figure for the southern region Skåne was 413, and 334 new cases per 100,000 people for all of Sweden, writes Swedish news agency TT.

Swedish vocabulary: spread – spridning

Thank you for reading. If you have any thoughts or questions about life in Sweden, you are always welcome to email our editorial team at [email protected].

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