The Working Poor Are on the Rise Across the Nordics

Researchers are looking into how precarious and informal jobs are shaping people’s lives. Is the Nordic welfare state truly equal for everyone who works within it?

Professor Lena Näre at the University of Helsinki leads the research project Managing Precarious and Informal Work in the Nordic Countries, which examines precarious employment in Finland, Sweden, and Norway through in-depth interviews with those directly affected.

– We want to understand what precarity means in a Nordic context and how it shapes everyday life in practice, Näre emphasizes.

The project brings together Nordic and interdisciplinary perspectives with a strong focus on concrete realities. The research targets sectors where working conditions often iare nsecure: cleaning, construction, and platform-based work. Migrant workers’ experiences are at the heart of the study, their voices otherwise being frequently absent from official statistics.

– Migrant workers often occupy the most vulnerable positions, which is why it is crucial that their voices are heard, says Näre.

The Rise of the Working Poor

According to Professor Markus Jäntti at Stockholm University, mapping the scope of precarious work and its evolution over time is challenging. The study reveals a clear trend: low-wage employment is increasing across the Nordic region.

– Statistics mainly cover the household population, meaning people with permanent residence permits. But our analyses show that the share of low-paid workers has grown in all Nordic countries, and so has the number of working poor. In the past, it was almost impossible to be poor while working full-time. That reality has changed.

Exploitation in Key Sectors

Interviews uncover severe exploitation in construction, including underpayment, unpaid wages and manipulated working hours. In cleaning, piece-rate systems drive harsher work rhythms and unpaid overtime. Platform work often disguises employment as self-employment, stripping workers of social security and even jeopardizing their ability to renew residence permits.

– These are not isolated cases, they reflect a broader structural problem. We need stronger oversight and a critical review of how residence permit systems create dependency on employers, Näre stresses.

Declining Union Membership

Trade unions remain important but struggle to reach migrant workers.

– Unions do their best, but membership has dropped sharply across the Nordic countries, Näre notes.

In Finland, unionisation fell from 74% in 2000 to below 60% in 2019 – a trend mirrored in Sweden. This decline weakens workers’ bargaining power and increases the risk of exploitation.

Rethinking the Welfare State

In Sweden, new forms of grassroots organizing have emerged, often based on direct democracy—a model researchers believe could strengthen future labor rights.
The project’s findings will be published in international journals and open-access thematic issues. Researchers also plan short videos, columns, and articles to reach a wider audience.

– We hope this sparks a debate about what kind of welfare state we want to preserve – and for whom.

For more information, please contact:
Professor Lena Näre, Project Leader
University of Helsinki
lena.nare@helsinki.fi