Published 11 January 2022 at 19.16
Economics. During the pandemic, it has “wobbled” more than ever and 2021 was the year when most days were paid out with temporary parental benefit. Just under 8.4 million days were paid out for 840,000 children, according to new statistics from the Swedish Social Insurance Agency on temporary parental benefit for child care (vab).
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Men's share of vab withdrawals increased slightly and in 2021 men accounted for 39.7 percent of withdrawals compared to 39.2 percent in 2020.
The differences between the counties are small – the counties where men used the largest share of the days, Gotland with 41.7 percent and Västerbotten with 41.4 percent. The lowest proportion of men in Norrbotten and Skåne took out 37.2 per cent and 37.9 per cent of the days, respectively.
With regard to parental benefit, the proportion of men decreased slightly compared with the previous year. A total of 29.6 percent of the days were paid out to men in 2021, compared with 30.0 percent in 2020. However, this is such a small change that it does not have to be a trend break, according to the Swedish Social Insurance Agency. The counties where the largest proportion of days are taken out by men are Västerbotten with 33.0 per cent and Gotland with 31.6 per cent. The counties where the least proportion of days are taken out by men are Skåne with 27.7 percent and Södermanland with 27.9 percent.
The number of pregnant women who received pregnancy benefit increased in 2021, when 37,754 received pregnancy benefit compared with 24,552 the year before. The increase is due to the National Board of Health and Welfare on 1 February 2021 assessing that pregnant women during the latter part of pregnancy have a higher risk of giving birth prematurely if they fall ill with covid-19. In cases where employers have not been able to relocate or adapt the tasks of pregnant employees, they have been able to prohibit the employee from working. More people than before have therefore applied for and received pregnancy benefit.