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Sweden
The report Job Creation and Local Economic Development 2023: Bridging the Great Green
Divide assesses the local labour market impact of the green transition. It presents novel
evidence on the share of jobs with a significant proportion of green tasks (green-task jobs)
as well as polluting jobs, those which face a higher risk of disappearing, across regions
within countries. Furthermore, it analyses current socio-economic and gender implications
of the green transition within local labour markets. The report covers all OECD countries
for which detailed data on employment by occupation is available.
How green are regional labour markets in Sweden?
Regional employment in green-task jobs
In Sweden, on average around 26.6% of workers are employed in jobs with a significant share of green
tasks that contribute to environmental objectives. This is 9 percentage points more green than the OECD
average of 17.6%. This figure ranges from 22.1% in Småland with Islands to 32.2% in Stockholm 1. Between
2011 and 2021, all regions in Sweden recorded an increase in the share of green-task jobs in their employed
labour force.
1Note that the region of Stockholm has a particular economic and demographic structure that sets it apart from the rest
of the Swedish regions. This explains, at least in part, the large gap between this and other regions in regard to the
indicators presented in this report.
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Figure 1 Share of green-task jobs in TL-2 regions
Note: See annex for examples of green tasks and occupations.
Source: OECD calculations based on EU LFS.
Figure 2 Green-task jobs in TL-2 regions (2011 - 2021)
2021 2011
OECD 17.6%
Småland with Islands 22.1%
Upper Norrland 22.3%
Central Norrland 24%
North Middle Sweden 24.5%
East Middle Sweden 24.6%
South Sweden 25.1%
West Sweden 26.2%
Sweden 26.6%
Stockholm 32.2%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%
Share of Green-task Jobs
Note: See annex for examples of green tasks and occupations.
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Source: OECD calculations based on EU LFS.
Regional differences in green-task jobs across regions in Sweden and the OECD
Across the OECD, regional labour markets differ substantially in their greenness. The leading regions
record employment shares in green-task jobs of around 30%, while in those regions at the bottom, green-
task jobs only account for less than 10% of employment. Regional disparities in the share of green-task
jobs are relatively more pronounced in Sweden compared to other OECD countries, as the regional gap
between the leading and lagging regions is of 10.1 percentage points, compared to 7.2 percentage points
within OECD countries on average.
Figure 3 Regional values for the share of green jobs
Lowest National average Highest
Canada Newfoundland and Labrador Alberta
United States South Dakota District of Columbia
Greece Western Greece Attica
Australia Tasmania Victoria
Italy Province of Bolzano-Bozen Emilia-Romagna
Poland Lublin Province Warsaw
Spain La Rioja Madrid
Slovakia West Slovakia Bratislava Region
Hungary Southern Great Plain Budapest
Germany Saxony-Anhalt Hamburg
Austria West Austria East Austria
Autonomous Region of the
Portugal North (PT)
Azores
Belgium Flemish Region Brussels Capital Region
Ireland Northern and Western Eastern and Midland
Czech Republic Northwest Prague
Netherlands
Iceland
Slovenia Mura Central Slovenia
France Normandy Île-de-France
Finland Eastern and Northern Finland Helsinki-Uusimaa
Denmark Southern Denmark Copenhagen region
United Kingdom Northern Ireland Greater London
New Zealand Southland Auckland
Switzerland Espace Mittelland Zurich
Norway Northern Norway Oslo and Viken
Sweden Småland with Islands Stockholm
Latvia
Estonia
Lithuania Central and Western Lithuania Vilnius Region
Luxembourg
-10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 %
Note: Last available year. 2019 for the UK. 2020 for Iceland. 2021 for Australia, Canada, EU countries, Norway, New Zealand, Switzerland, and
the US. See annex for examples of green tasks and occupations.
Source: OECD calculations based on EU LFS, Canadian LFS (StatCan), OEWS (U.S Bureau of Labour Statistics), Table EQ08 (Australian
Bureau of Statistics), HLFS (Stats NZ), Slovenian LFS (Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia) and Polish LFS (Statistics Poland).
JOB CREATION AND LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 2023 © OECD 2023
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Polluting jobs
Polluting jobs in emission intensive sectors, such as mining or oil and gas, are heavily concentrated in some
regions, raising the risk of those regions being left behind in the green transition. In Sweden, on average
around 11.1% of workers are employed in polluting jobs that will face a greater risk of displacement due to
the green transition, compared to 11.7% on average in OECD countries. The share of polluting jobs differs
across regions in Sweden, ranging from 6.4% in Stockholm to 15.6% in Småland with Islands. Since 2011,
7 out of 8 regions in Sweden reduced their share of polluting jobs, falling on average by 2 percentage
points.
Figure 4 Polluting jobs in TL-2 regions
Note: See annex for further details on polluting occupations
Source: OECD calculations based on EU LFS.
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Figure 5 Polluting jobs in TL-2 regions (2011 - 2021)
2021 2011
Stockholm 6.4%
South Sweden 9.9%
Sweden 11.1%
OECD 11.7%
West Sweden 12.1%
East Middle Sweden 12.4%
North Middle Sweden 14.3%
Central Norrland 14.6%
Upper Norrland 15.3%
Småland with Islands 15.6%
0% 5% 10% 15%
Share of Polluting Jobs
Note: See annex for further details on polluting occupations
Source: OECD calculations based on EU LFS.
Green-task jobs: a new gender divide
Women are drastically underrepresented in green jobs. On average, women account for less than third
(28.3%) of workers in green-task jobs across the OECD. In Sweden, women make up a higher share,
accounting for 34.4% of workers in green-task jobs. Stockholm is the region that is closest to gender parity
with 40.8% of green-task jobs held by women. In comparison, women account for only 27.1% of green-task
jobs in Central Norrland.
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Figure 6 Share of women in green jobs
Note: Data for 2021. See annex for examples of green tasks and occupations.
Source: OECD calculations based on EU LFS.
Figure 7 Share of women in green jobs across TL-2 regions
Note: Data for 2021. See annex for examples of green tasks and occupations.
JOB CREATION AND LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 2023 © OECD 2023
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Source: OECD calculations based on EU LFS.
Current labour market demand for green-task jobs
Speeding up the slow pace of growth in green jobs is critical to reach net zero. While most local labour
markets have not become much greener over the last decade, since the start of the pandemic growth in
the demand for green-task jobs has outpaced overall labour market demand by 20% across the OECD.
As the OECD overall, Sweden has also experienced faster growth in the demand for green jobs than for
non-green jobs. On average, the demand for green jobs grew by 75.5% more between Q1 2019 and Q1
2022.
Figure 8 Online job posting over time, compared to base year (2019)
Source: OECD calculations based on Lightcast job posting data.
JOB CREATION AND LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 2023 © OECD 2023
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Annex - Measuring the share of green-task and polluting jobs
Green tasks and green jobs
Green-task jobs are defined and analysed at the occupation level based on the greenness of their related
task content. It relies on classifications developed by O*NET, which provides a taxonomy of the greenness
of all tasks for more than 900 occupations. Tasks identified as green contribute to environmental objectives
such as preserving the environment and reducing emissions.
Using the information on the tasks of an occupation, one can compute a greenness score for each
occupation, ranging from 0 to 1. A score of 0 denotes an occupation with no green task. Infographic 2.1
offers a number of illustrating examples of different occupations, including those with a very high greenness
score, those with some green tasks, and those with no green tasks. Based on O*NET’s classification, the
majority of jobs have no green task. Occupations with no green tasks in O*NET’s classification are not
necessarily ‘dirty’, as illustrated by examples below.
Figure 9 Occupation and task examples
Note: The greenness of occupations is based on their task content and the fact whether those tasks are green or not. The greenness score of
occupation ranges from 1 (all tasks are green) to 0 (all tasks are non-green). The classification of high-, medium-, and low-skilled occupations
follows ISCO.
Source: OECD elaboration based on O*NET’s Green Tasks Data.
Green-task jobs
To examine the geography of jobs with a significant share of green tasks and to examine differences across
workers within regional labour markets, a binary measure is constructed which classifies an occupation as
being green-task or non-green-task. For this report, green-task jobs consist of those occupations with at
least 10% of their tasks considered green.
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Polluting jobs
Polluting jobs are a subset of non-green-task jobs (i.e. they have no green tasks) that are particularly
concentrated in highly polluting sectors, based on the emission of seven contaminants: CO, VOC, NOx,
SO2, Pm10, PM2.5, lead and CO2.
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References
OECD (2023), Job Creation and Local Development 2023 – Bridging the Great Green Divide:
https://doi.org/10.1787/21db61c1-en
Source of administrative boundaries: © OECD, © EuroGeographics, National Statistical Offices, © UN-FAO Global
Administrative Unit Layers (GAUL)
JOB CREATION AND LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 2023 © OECD 2023
