IndexReport outlineThe investments the government is investing inStandard of living and unemploymentUnemploymentImpact of unemployment benefitsRetraining of the workforceImpact of implemented policiesReport outlineSweden, a developed Scandinavian country located in Northern Europe, with its economy being export oriented, having a skilled workforce, the country excels in both internal and external communication. The resource base consists largely of timber, hydropower and iron ore. The country's economy is heavily dependent on foreign trade. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original EssayThe investments the government is investing in From the pie chart, we can infer that the government spends mostly on unemployment and government sectors in 2016. 38.80% of the budget is spent on unemployment while 19.06% is spent for government affairs, followed by 9.84% for housing and communities, 7.48% for Medicare and healthcare. Meanwhile, the government spends 5.27% of the budget on military expenditure. From the bar chart, government military spending increased from 2009 to 2017. Military spending increased steadily from $4,871.7 million in 2009 to $5,479.4 million in 2017. In 2006, Sweden's military spending amounts to 39 billion SEK, or about 1.5% of GDP. 48% were operational funds for national forces, 39% for material procurement, 4% for international missions, another 3% for research and development and the last 6% are funds reserved for unexpected costs related to increase in material costs. As decided by the government To give the army a sufficient deterrent capability, the government plans to increase the budget allocated to the army by 22 billion dollars in 2018. Swedish military spending is expected to increase from 37.5 billion SEK in 2015 to 53.4 billion SEK in 2019. A government investigation found that the decrease in military capacity was not inevitable and that large investments needed to be made. One example is that the current Swedish Stridsfordon 9040 tanks, which will turn 30 in 2020, will be replaced with Leopard 2A5 main battle tanks, a drastic technological improvement over the old war machine. With this huge expense, the Swedish defense will have better flexibility, impact power, better survivability opportunities and greater resistance. The Swedish Army's priority is to increase its inventory to strengthen existing units and maximize the use of equipment. The first step would be to involve more and better coastal missiles, increased naval and amphibious capability. Sweden would focus on artillery and air defense while maintaining its five submarines. These implementations would cost Sweden approximately SEK 56 billion. The second step is to place a strong emphasis on fighter aircraft, strengthening sensors, radar equipment and weapons. Furthermore, the air force would be more widespread throughout the Swedish territory so as to reduce vulnerability to attacks from on board. This would cost the Swedish Army approximately 47 billion SEK. Finally, purchasing better submarines and artillery for the ground forces that will strengthen the Navy will cost Sweden around 47 billion SEK. A great example would be the SwMS Gotland, a modern submarine made by the Swedish military. The killer submarine has sunk numerous other submarines, including nuclear-based US fast-attack submarines. The SwMS Gotland has proven to be a piece of equipmentlethal, efficient and reliable military for the Swedish army. Sweden has worked on coastal security over the years to prevent attacks from the sea. All these implementations will result in improved efficiency and response times for the country in managing external threats, as well as better equipment and technologies to counter any attacks. Over the years 2016 to 2020, Swedish Defense Minister PeterHultqvist pledged in 2015 to spend around 1 billion euros more on the armed forces, or an increase of around 11%, and also to buy more aircraft fighters, tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and anti-submarine warfare equipment. Furthermore, the Ministry of Defense also states that a further 100 million euros will be spent on defense infrastructure on the island of Gotland. Standard of living and unemployment With an increase in military spending, the government has invested in more advanced equipment such as more advanced tanks and air defense system, which allows for better security of the country. Citizens would feel more protected as they would feel more confident in the more advanced technology that the country has implemented and put into place, increasing citizens' confidence regarding the well-being of the country in times of war. This raises the standard of living of people who feel safer and more secure living in Sweden as spending on better military equipment dampens the country's vulnerability. From the graph, we can deduce that government spending has fluctuated over the years. Between 2008 and 2009 there was a peak increase in government spending from 50.1 to 52.7 followed by a decline from 2009 to 2011 from 52.7 to 50.3. It would subsequently increase again in 2013 to 52, the second highest point in government spending in the last 9 years. From 2014 to 2017, government spending reportedly decreased to an all-time low of 49.1. As seen from the graph above, there has been a peak increase in government spending since 2008-2009. This comes after a severe economic recession. To emerge from the crisis, an increase in public spending was carried out in the unemployment and social security sectors. This would help citizens during times of economic crisis and therefore could help the country in economic recession. As the country began to recover from the recession, government spending would decrease and therefore focus more on other sectors such as the military which improve the standard of living in Sweden. For example, in 2018, they invested in more advanced military equipment to safeguard the country from attacks abroad. Since government spending is independent of real GDP, increasing or decreasing government spending would not directly affect real GDP. But government spending has a direct relationship with aggregate spending, so when government spending increases, aggregate spending would also increase. And when aggregate spending increased, real GDP would also increase. This would be an advantage, for example, in 2009, when the Swedish government pumped up public spending, to increase the country's real GDP overall after the economic crisis. Unemployment In Sweden there are two main categories of unemployment. Seasonal unemployment and structural unemployment. Seasonal unemployment is mainly due to the mandatory summer break in Sweden, whereby all citizens are given 4 weeks of vacation. This causes the need for part-time jobs during that period and up to 105,000 summer jobs were posted between December 2017 and April 2018, highlighting the labor market's desperate need for temporary replacements. Many of citizens' jobs are not registered by the government as they fall into the category of part-time jobs, thus inflating the employment rate.unemployment in Sweden. The main cause of structural unemployment is due to the lack of means for businesses to operate in Sweden. find the right profiles for your job. In Sweden there is a general shortage of skilled labor as the demand for certain skilled labor remains high with many vacancies. Many companies in Sweden are trying to expand their business, but most of them are held back due to the lack of labor in key sectors such as education, healthcare, IT, engineers and various blue-collar jobs such as mechanics, plumbers and even chefs. Most of these jobs require specific skills that the Swedish workforce lacks. Therefore, even if there are jobs available, most unemployed people do not have the skills needed to do the job. This will be seen as structural unemployment rather than frictional unemployment as many workers will have to upgrade their skills before they have the capacity to take a job. Swedish unemployment benefits are divided into 2 main levels, the Basic Protection Fund and the Income Protection Fund. Both funds are strongly supported by the government, as expected, due to the high tax rates for its citizens. This fund provides minimal support to citizens who are unemployed and actively looking for work. This helps the citizen overcome this difficult time as the fund solves basic needs such as food, housing and other bills. However, this scheme does not provide sufficient funding for most citizens and most will have to resort to part-time jobs while actively seeking full-time work. Most of Sweden's working population falls into this category where this provides them with approximately 80% of their previous salary for the first 200 days and 70% of their previous salary for the next 100 days. However, the fund is limited to 680 crowns per day (105 SGD). This is a more sustainable amount for most citizens and ensures that they will not need to rush to find a job but will instead take the time to upgrade their skills to make them more relevant to the workforce and fit into a job in the future. their caliber. Impact from Unemployment Benefits Although the government's initial idea of ​​implementing these unemployment benefits is to ensure citizens have financial security in case they lose their jobs, the system has been exploited by some citizens going through the period of unemployment. The majority of the population sees this system as a safety net in case they find themselves unemployed, they will not have to fear providing for their family while actively looking for work, helping citizens to place trust in their government. However, some citizens see unemployment as an opportunity to take a break and do not actively look for work as the government will provide for them, creating some resentment towards workers who pay high taxes due to minority status. Improving the Workforce The Swedish government will advocate equal rights for all and implement compulsory education for its citizens up to the minimum requirement of a diploma certificate. The government also places emphasis on lifelong learning and provides adult education and vocational training. Adult education mostly compromises general education. Most public schools offer courses that adults can take to improve their skill level so that they are more attractive for companies to hire. The focus of this program is for people in the workforce who have failed to.