Sweden tells unemployed youth to look for work in Greece

Sweden's government-funded employment agency has come up with a novel solution for tackling high youth unemployment. It has suggested the jobless look for work in austerity wracked Mediterranean countries including Greece and Spain.

Youth unemployment within the European Union member countries is soaring. According to statistics released by Eurostat youth unemployment in Spain stands at 46.4 percent, in Greece 44.4 percent, and in Portugal 30.1 percent. Statistics from other sources put the figures for young unemployed much higher, above 50 percent in Spain and Greece. In marked contrast Sweden's youth unemployment stands at 24.2 percent according to Unric. Nevertheless the Swedish employment agency (EURES) has launched a campaign encouraging Swedish youth to head to the Mediterranean in search of summer jobs in Spain and Greece, both mired in economic crisis, Wort Lu reports. The jobs the Swedes are encouraged to snare from jobless Spanish and Greeks are in the hotel and entertainment industry, primarily servicing Swedish tourists. EURES is holding a Mediterranean job fare and promises to reimburse job seekers that travel to the city of Malmoe to attend. It is not the first time that Swedes have been encouraged to leave their country in search of work. The Telegraph reported the town of Soderhamn paid for Swedish job hunters to head to Norway for work.