Skills Shortage 2026 – Which Jobs Are Hardest to Fill and Where Is the Labor Market Heading?

Swedish companies and institutions are currently missing around 61,000 employees, and employers in most sectors report difficulty finding the right competence. The shortage is concentrated in a few sectors and occupations that all share one common trait – demand is growing faster than supply.

The Recruitment Situation 2026 – A Labor Market in Transformation

According to Statistics Sweden's (SCB) survey on vacant jobs and recruitment needs, the skills shortage amounted to approximately 61,000 vacancies during 2025. Behind these figures lies a structural problem.

It is primarily two forces driving this. Digitalization creates constant pressure on IT competence, forcing many organizations to restructure faster than they have planned. At the same time, the aging population is increasing the burden on the healthcare sector, precisely when retirement rates among experienced staff are at their highest.

Many employers no longer have time to wait out traditional recruitments, which can take several months. Therefore, more and more are choosing to hire staffing agencies to quickly cover needs, either temporarily during ongoing recruitments or as a more permanent solution.

The Swedish Public Employment Service forecasts that the labor market will strengthen this year and next, with decreasing unemployment and increased demand in most sectors. However, an improved economic upturn will not solve the skills shortage in the short term. Occupations that are already difficult to recruit for will remain so for a good while.

Occupations with the Greatest Skills Shortage

The shortage looks different in different parts of the labor market. Here are the sectors where the gap between available and demanded competence is largest.

Healthcare and Social Care

The healthcare sector has the most acute needs. There is a shortage of doctors, specialist nurses in psychiatry, anesthesia, and intensive care, as well as nursing assistants and midwives. Many regions are planning expanded operations, but recruitment difficulties are significant. The healthcare sector is the one that, for a long time, has had the hardest time matching demand with available staff.

The reason is not hard to understand. An aging population requires more and more specialized care, and large parts of the currently active workforce will retire in the coming years. Educational programs are not producing fast enough to cover the gap, and regions have long struggled to match the salaries and working conditions required to retain competence.

The situation is complicated by the fact that many well-educated nurses actively choose staffing assignments over permanent employment, partly due to better pay and more flexible schedules. This creates pressure that the healthcare sector has yet to find a sustainable answer to.

IT and Technology

The IT sector is the most optimistic industry heading into 2026, with expansive hiring plans, but the accelerating digitalization and lack of competence remain constant hurdles. The greatest need exists for system developers, IT architects, and specialists in cybersecurity.

The problem is exacerbated by the fact that the AI transformation is creating entirely new roles that the education system has not yet had time to adapt to. More and more companies are seeking competence that barely existed five years ago, and those who possess it are aware of this.

This means that IT recruitments are increasingly taking place internationally or through consulting and staffing solutions. Salary levels for IT competence continue to rise, and employers who cannot offer competitive conditions struggle to even book interviews.

School, Construction, and Transport

The education sector is also under pressure, with a declining student base and municipal budget cuts creating uncertainty. The shortage of teachers and preschool teachers is geographically widespread and difficult to address quickly.

In construction and craftsmanship, there is a lack of electricians, plumbers, welders, and refrigeration technicians. The shortage of truck drivers is also significant and geographically widespread. This affects logistics and supply chains across the entire country, not least in northern Sweden.

What these occupations have in common is long educational paths, occupation-specific certificates, or regional limitations. The problems build up over a long time and will not resolve themselves in a couple of years.

More Staffing Assignments and a More Flexible Labor Market

It is not only demand that is changing in the labor market. On the supply side, work forms are becoming increasingly flexible, and staffing assignments are part of this.

A challenge is that more and more people with sought-after competence are actively choosing shorter assignments over permanent employment. This applies not least to healthcare and IT, where salary and working conditions via staffing agencies are often better than at the companies needing the staff.

This creates pressure on employers who cannot match the salary levels. They risk losing staff to staffing companies, which then rent the same person back at a higher cost. This is a pattern most clearly seen in the healthcare sector, but it is beginning to appear in IT and education as well.

Opportunities for Job Seekers and Employers

The skills shortage looks different depending on which side of the labor market you are on.

For those looking for a job, the shortage offers an advantage. Healthcare, IT, and construction are actively seeking and competing for available candidates. This gives job seekers a strong negotiating position. Staffing assignments can also be a way in for those who want to try out a new sector or a new location. Many who start via a staffing assignment are also offered permanent employment after a while.

For employers, it is more about strategy. Building a recruitment pipeline for the long term, actively working to retain existing staff, and offering competitive conditions can be decisive for managing the supply of competence.

There are also more tools on the market nowadays, from international recruitment to internal competence development and structured staffing solutions. What fits depends on the industry, geography, and how quickly positions need to be filled. One thing is certain: employers who start working on the issue today have a head start over those who wait until the shortage becomes truly acute.

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