4 percent as of June 2025, the Swedish Public Employment Service reports. About 23,175 people commuted over the Öresund Bridge in the last three months of 2024, according to the Örestat database. Greater Copenhagen aims to increase cross-border commuting to 30,000 by 2030, the organisation said.
If half of the 37,000 unemployed Skåne residents living within one hour of Copenhagen got jobs in Denmark, the socio-economic gain would be up to 13 billion Swedish kronor, Greater Copenhagen estimates. Currently, 22 percent of all Danish recruitment attempts fail, according to the organisation. The main reason Skåne residents do not take jobs in Denmark is distance, said Camilla Søe, political advisor at Greater Copenhagen, adding that there are also uncertainties about working conditions, salary, and language concerns.
I would say that Denmark has the best labour market in Europe, with positions available in every field.
The Danish krone is currently 50 percent stronger than the Swedish krona, which makes Danish wages more attractive. Denmark's employment minister Ane Halsboe-Jørgensen is against easing immigration rules to recruit foreign labour, according to reports, instead focusing on the approximately 43,000 young people in Denmark who are neither working nor in education. However, experts say this group is not enough to fill all job vacancies.
Sabina Pultz, labour market researcher at Roskilde University, noted that 80 percent of the 43,000 young people have a simple explanation for not working, such as a gap year or being between studies. The Confederation of Danish Industry (DI) says foreign labour is an obvious part of the solution. The Danish government has proposed reducing the annual minimum income requirement under the pay limit scheme to DKK 330,000 for applicants from certain third countries, which provides third-country citizens with a well-paid job easy access to the Danish job market.
They have an aging population and they have also had strict migration laws for a long time.
It also proposed a reform requiring long-term unemployed to do 37 hours of community service per week to continue receiving benefits, primarily aimed at immigrants with integration needs. The chairperson of the National Association of Municipalities, Jacob Bundsgaard, doubted that community service would lead citizens closer to a job. Criticism of the plan came from both the Radical Left Party and the Conservative People's Party.
Employment minister Peter Hummelgaard invited labour market parties to a meeting to discuss acute labour shortages in some sectors. Around 108,000 Danes are currently unemployed, down from over 155,000 during the pandemic, according to Danmarks Statistik. Labour shortages are greatest in the hotel industry and skilled trades.
It has increased quite a bit over the last few years in all sectors. Hospitality has been a big, big issue, the labour market for construction workers has been much better in Denmark. They need nurses, assistant nurses, and all kinds of healthcare workers.
The Danish Social Democrats had their worst election result since 1903 in March 2025. The Labour party in the UK has considered adopting Denmark's hardline immigration approach. The Danish Social Democrats under Mette Frederiksen acted as guarantors of the thesis that social democratic parties can win on immigration by taking hardline stances.
However, the Danish electoral system is proportional representation, different from the UK's system, and the UK is multicultural in a way Denmark is not. Muneeza Rosendahl, director of Danish NGO Lige Adgang, says immigrants want to work but face structural barriers. She noted that individuals with Muslim-sounding names often need to submit significantly more job applications than those with native-sounding names in Denmark.
If you are motivated and have some kind of experience, you can get jobs in most sectors in Denmark. The industry they have with Novo Nordisk is very much affecting everything in Denmark, so life science specialists are valued as well. The problem is for them to find skilled professionals in most fields.
Language barriers hinder access to higher-paying jobs requiring advanced skills. She said the term 'guest workers' has been detrimental to integration as it implies they will eventually leave. The Copenhagen health and care administration expects to lack up to 2,000 employees by 2035, according to mayor Jens-Kristian Lütken.
He added that barriers include lack of recognition of each other's education, and suggested mini job fairs. There are 37,000 people in Skåne municipalities within one hour of Copenhagen who have relevant competence for Danish shortage occupations, according to Greater Copenhagen. The biggest commuting sectors are transport and logistics, business services, trade, and healthcare.
You have to email the contact person in the job vacancy to show your interest in a more proactive way. That's one of the starting points.
com, Peter Karancsi, Eures advisor, described Denmark as having the best labour market in Europe with positions in every field. He said cross-border commuting has increased in all sectors, especially hospitality, construction, and healthcare. Life science specialists are valued due to Novo Nordisk's impact.
The biggest employer of workers from Sweden is in transportation and logistics. com, Karancsi also described that in Denmark, it is recommended to follow up job applications with messages to the contact person, and unsolicited applications are also recommended.