More than 5,000 warned of layoffs in Sweden last month

A total of 5,328 people were affected by potential layoffs in Sweden in January, according to preliminary statistics by the Public Employment Service.

Swedish law states that employers in most cases have to first give employees and the service notice that there may be layoffs, so not all of those people will necessarily lose their jobs. Here’s a link to The Local’s guide to what happens if you lose your job in Sweden.

In January last year, the corresponding figure was just over 1,400 people, but it has been increasing every month since, writes Swedish news agency TT.

Swedish vocabulary: a notice (when notifying staff that they may be laid off, but they could still end up keeping their jobs or get a new job at the same company) – ett varsel

US citizens in Sweden warned of terror attack in wake of Koran burnings

In a new notice, the US embassy warns its citizens in Sweden of possible terrorist attacks in retaliation of recent Koran burning incidents in Europe.

In Sweden, a far-right extremist last month burned the Koran outside the Turkish embassy, causing Turkey to suspend Nato talks with Sweden and Finland, and causing outrage in many Muslim countries.

The notice advises US citizens to “use caution” in busy public venues, diplomatic facilities and gathering sites such as places of worship. Sweden has not changed its terror threat level, which remains at level three on a scale from one to five.

Swedish vocabulary: a terror threat level – en terrorhotnivå

Swedish Migration Agency’s new forecast for 2023

The Migration Agency estimates that 16,000 people will seek asylum in Sweden in 2023, and 15,000 Ukrainians will seek protection. However, it adds that the number of Ukrainian arrivals could vary from 8,000 to 100,000 depending on how the war develops.

It also believes that around 80,000 people will apply for Swedish citizenship this year, and that the agency will receive 60,000 work permit-related first-time applications (this also includes for example family members of work permit applicants and job hunters).

Swedish vocabulary: a refugee – en flykting

Cost of living: How food prices rose in Sweden in early 2023

The increase in food prices in January was 1.4 percent – one of the largest increases reported since food prices started rising almost a year ago, according to independent comparison site Matpriskollen.

In January, the price of groceries increased 1.3 percent on December, with the price of food specifically increasing by 1.4 percent. Food prices have now gone up 16.3 percent in the last 12 months. Read more in The Local’s article.

Swedish vocabulary: food prices – matpriser