The staffing crisis in the welfare state: Challenges and opportunities

Norway faces a significant challenge in the coming years: How can we ensure enough qualified labor to maintain and further develop the welfare state?

The population is aging, and the proportion of people in the typically working-age population is decreasing. This creates a gap between the supply and demand of labor. In addition to demographic changes, there are high expectations for the services and benefits that the public sector should deliver.

These trends can threaten the sustainability and quality of the welfare state.

This project aims to shed light on the labor needs, summarize the main challenges related to the staffing crisis, and discuss various proposals for solutions.

The staffing crisis is not only about the lack of labor. How the labor market functions and how the parties in the labor market contribute will affect the development and availability of skills.

The regulation of working hours, education and skill transfer, technology development, and the development of democracy and welfare services are interconnected elements that influence the development of public services, and thereby the population's health and welfare.