20 percent may be out of work

More than one in five healthy Strömstadsbo is at risk of being unemployed after the turn of the year. The reason for the job crisis is written, of course, as a corona pandemic.

Strömstad, which sits next to the Norwegian border, has relied heavily on shopping-hungry Norwegians who crossed the border to cut corners in Sweden. And during the summer months, it is a tourist gem along the west coast for both Norwegians and Swedes.

But this spring, like overnight, Norwegian buyers disappeared when the border was closed.

– No one came, the difference was like day and night, from being one of the largest shopping centers in Sweden to the fact that we had no customers. The center staff negotiated with each other. It was very strange and we didn’t think it would last that long, says 27-year-old Ida Hansson, who lives in Strömstad and works in a store that sells food supplements in the Nordby shopping center.

Ida has been notified of her job

But the crisis is when we approach the turn of the year far from ending and Ida Hansson is one of those who have been notified of dismissal. She is employed until mid-January and then she doesn’t know what to do or whether she will be able to get a new job.

About 20 percent of the healthy portion of municipal residents appear to be out of work at the beginning of the year, writes SVT Nyheter Väst. According to a press release from the Swedish Public Employment Service, which was published in October, unemployment is estimated at 9.6 percent in the country in the first quarter of next year, which corresponds to 500,000 people.

– I think it’s very difficult. There was a service that was looking for a cleaner. More than 50 applications were received. The competition is getting extremely tough, it’s almost the worst. To become unemployed with poor prospects of getting a new job, some move from here, says Ida, who was previously interviewed by SVT.

“Too bad for us too”

Heidi Caroline Nyström is president of the Strömstad Merchants Association and owns the Ditt or Datt store. The members of the association are shops and businesses in the center of Strömstad and not the big shopping centers on the border.

– Even if the crisis does not affect us so much, it is very bad for us, he says.

She herself has been unable to earn a salary for much of the year and describes that many of the city’s stores have been able to lay off and reduce their opening hours.

– If this continues for another year, I don’t know what kind of city we will have left. It will be a ripple effect throughout society. Those who live here will have reduced purchasing power and the natural development over the years here has been tourism and commerce, says Heidi Caroline Nyström and asks that companies can once again apply for rental support.

– It is very important for Strömstad, for small business owners, he says.

The municipal director: “I am tremendously worried”

Strömstad Municipal Director Mats Brocker had a digital meeting with Foreign Minister Anna Hallberg on Monday.

– I meet with store representatives and workers every day and only see what happens. I’m very worried, he tells SVT.

The municipality is building an adequacy office in the old hospital, in order to help residents with, for example, higher education. Something that is financed by municipal money and money from the Västra Götaland region, Fyrbodal, Almi and the Swedish Public Employment Service, writes SVT.

But Brocker is now asking for a crisis package from the government.

– Local businesses need government support, we can’t use tax money for this, says Mats Brocker, to SVT and continues:

– The companies cannot handle this by themselves and we as a municipality cannot go in and take responsibility for the government.

“A sinking ship”

Ida Hansson also agrees that the municipality needs help to save the situation.

– Strömstad is a sinking ship, the municipality cannot save this by themselves. The government needs to help here. This is our only chance. Once the rim opens, it will roll again. But we need help keeping our heads above water until then, he says.

How would you say the mood is in Strömstad now?

– It is very low, people who have lost their jobs, I have friends who have had their own companies that before fully flourished but now have gone bankrupt. It is very difficult. It’s the only thing they talk about, the only thing they wonder about. What are you going to do now? I get that question almost daily, “What are you going to do?”

GT has contacted Mats Brocker for comment.