The Swedish Public Employment Service continues to demonstrate major shortcomings in accessibility and service

Summary of the decision: During 2023, severe criticism was directed at the Swedish Public Employment Service for shortcomings in accessibility and service via telephone and chatbot. Having continued to receive complaints, the Parliamentary Ombudsman has conducted a new review of the agency’s ability to live up to the requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act (SFS (2017:900) in this regard.

The telephone and chatbot are vital channels of communication for the Swedish Public Employment Service, not least because a large part of the agency’s contacts with jobseekers takes place in this manner. For this reason, the Parliamentary Ombudsman finds reason to place high demands on access to telephone and chat channels.

The Parliamentary Ombudsman notes that the Swedish Public Employment Service continues to have major shortcomings in accessibility, including many jobseekers enduring unreasonable telephone queue times and few being able to reach a case officer via the chatbot. These accessibility problems have existed for a long time and there has been no improvement since the previous critical decision. The Parliamentary Ombudsman considers these shortcomings very troubling and the Swedish Public Employment Service deserves severe criticism for them. The Parliamentary Ombudsman will continue to follow developments in this area and is also sending a copy of the decision to the Government.