The present study focuses on the local labour market programmes with the municipalities as the responsible authority. There is no systematic documentation of the local labour market programmes, here termed "activation programmes", as is the case for programmes with the Labour Market Board as the responsible authority. The programmes that are directed towards receivers of social assistance who are unemployed can be seen as a secondary labour market policy.

Being as these local activation programmes are by nature local, no overview of the extent and type of programmes has never before been undertaken in Sweden. Information on both the municipalities and the programmes representing the situation in April 2002 has been collected. 204 municipalities took part, which is the equivalent of 70% of the total. Information from more than 500 activation programmes in a total of 168 municipalities forms the basis for the analysis of the programmes.

These programmes differ in principle in several ways from national labour market programmes, amongst other things due to the result of amendments made to the Social Services Act in January 1998. A landscape, containing very large local variations, has been made partially visible in the present study. The basis is the administering of social assistance that takes place with a wide range of views concerning the possibilities for the labour market to find alternative financing for those in need of social assistance. The labour market policies that are pursued and laid down by the government and the parliament and which the Labour Market Board has the responsibility for carrying out, do not reach all citizens.

An English summary is included in this report.

I denna rapport presenteras den första nationella analysen av hur Sveriges kommuner aktiverar arbetslösa socialbidragstagare. En totalstudie baserad på enkäter och telefonintervjuer genomfördes under 2002.

Undersökningen har synliggjort ett policyfält med mycket stora variationer. Skilda lokala förutsättningar medför ett mycket stort antal möjliga utfall av konkret socialpolitik för den enskilde socialbidragstagaren. Rättigheter och krav varierar beroende på hemkommun och dess tolkning och praktiska tillämpning av lagen.

Studien visar på en generell socialpolitisk nivå att den arbetsmarknadspolitik som drivs och beslutas av regering och riksdag inte når alla medborgare. Var tionde arbetslös hänvisas till socialtjänsten som organiseras enligt andra principer än den nationella arbetsmarknadspolitiken. Är resultatet ett tecken på en uppdelning av svensk arbetsmarknadspolitik, där socialbidragstagare hamnar på nedersta trappsteget?

Professor Tapio Salonen och doktorand Rickard Ulmestig är bägge verksamma inom institutionen för vårdvetenskap och socialt arbete vid Växjö universitet.