"We have an increasing number of employers who are taking a stand on the situation and are actively working to provide themselves with skills that they would traditionally have opted out of," says Ola Kereby, head of the Public Employment Service in Jämtland County.
Compared with last year, total unemployment in Sweden has remained relatively constant. On the other hand, the number of long-term unemployed has decreased and Jämtland has the lowest figures.
In the latest statistics, 861 people in Jämtland County are long-term unemployed. That is 1.3 per cent of the working-age population.
Factory: They are a resource for us
Lindevalls in Östersund is a company that has long found labour among the long-term unemployed and new arrivals.
"We would have liked to hire seamstresses who have training, journeyman's certificates and long experience, but there aren't that many of them to get hold of," says CEO Göran Svensk and continues:
"But luckily, there have been many talented tailors from other parts of the world. So they've really been a resource for us.
Renzo Leon started as an intern
According to Göran Svensk Swede, about 70 percent of his workforce has been trained internally at the company. One of them is Renzo Leon, who moved from Peru to Sweden for love. First he got an internship, now he has a permanent job.
"It means a lot because it's not so easy to get a job in Sweden," he says.
Despite the recession and forecasts pointing to rising unemployment in the future, Göran Svensk believes that companies will need to continue to look for new staff among the long-term unemployed.
In the video above, he explains why.