5th NORDIC-BALTIC CONFERENCE IN REGIONAL SCIENCE
GLOBAL-LOCAL INTERPLAY IN THE BALTIC SEA REGION
Pärnu, Estonia, October 1-4, 1998

Dr. Lars Olof Persson
Research Group on Regional Analysis (FORA)
The Royal Institute of Technology
S-10044 Stockholm, Sweden
Tel.: 46 8 790 8591     Fax: 46 8 790 8625
E-mail: lop@infra.kth.se

Most years in the 90s have witnessed an increase in gross and net in migration to Metropolitan Stockholm. In this respect, the capital region is different from almost any other Swedish region. This includes foreign immigration, directly as well as indirectly via refugee camps in other regions in Sweden. Immigration from Russia, the Baltic States and Poland describes a diverse pattern, but an expected sharp increase in the post-Soviet period has largely not occurred. In relative terms, immigration from Russia has increased more than from any other of these neighbouring countries.

Increasing in migration from other regions in the country - including secondary immigration of former refugees - can not be fully explained by labour demand factors in Stockholm, since the period has been characterised by a high level of unemployment - similar to levels found in other parts of Sweden. There is evidence that labour demand does not play an important role in interregional mobility in post-industrial societies. On the other hand, it is probably true that the strictly regulated Swedish labour market - including high levels of minimum wages in most branches - is a limitation to direct immigration e g from countries around the Baltic Sea. This is expected to be a limitation for labour mobility also in a scenario of an enlarged European Union.

The paper explores the characteristics of the labour market in Stockholm and its current and potential importance to migration patterns to the region. The general role of labour mobility and migration on urban dynamics is discussed. The focus is on the future mobility of labour from the countries east and south east of Stockholm.