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The Swedish job search runs across three separate systems: a public job board, a public employment service, and a private network. Which one matters most to you depends on your permit route. Most guides list every platform in one pile without stating that a work-permit rule forces employers toward one specific channel ahead of the others.
This guide names each channel, states what it is built for, and marks the point where the EU/EEA and non-EU/EEA branch changes your answer.
For the rest of the finding-work pillar, including permit routes, CV format, and interview expectations, use this guide as the channel map that sits above those narrower questions.
Platsbanken, the Public Job Board Searched in Swedish or English
Platsbanken is Sweden's largest and most-visited employment website, and you can search it in Swedish or using English-language terms.
Arbetsförmedlingen states that vacant positions across the whole country appear on Platsbanken, since publicly advertised vacancies route through it. The board supports location-based search and email alerts for new listings that match a saved search. It also carries remote-work postings on the same platform as on-site roles. Arbetsförmedlingen documents more than 300 professions on the site, each with typical salary, employment prospects, and regional demand data attached, per Arbetsförmedlingen. At the time this page was checked, Platsbanken's Job Bank listed 71,843 vacancies, a figure that moves daily and should be re-verified at the time you read this, rather than treated as fixed.
What Arbetsförmedlingen Offers Beyond the Listings
Arbetsförmedlingen is more than a search box. It also runs a skills profile, sector-specific EURES advisers, and direct email contacts organized by field.
You can create a skills profile so that employers searching for your background can find you directly, rather than waiting for you to apply. Arbetsförmedlingen assigns EURES advisers by sector. It also lists seven separate email contacts covering health, ICT, engineering, hospitality, teaching, veterinary work, and other fields, per Arbetsförmedlingen. The agency publishes webinar content on job-search topics and offers free career counselling if you register. Most listed positions require fluency in Swedish, per Arbetsförmedlingen's own page, though an exception applies for higher technical professions and other sectors where highly skilled competence is required.
Where the Openings Actually Are
Sector and geography change your odds of finding an opening more than the platform you search on.
Arbetsförmedlingen names healthcare, manufacturing, education, construction, and civil engineering as sectors carrying numerous openings. Norrbotten and Västerbotten are flagged for acute shortages, with demand spanning restaurants, shops, healthcare, schools, IT, and transport. Arbetsförmedlingen's own guidance states plainly: "You increase your chances of getting a job if you widen your job search geographically," per Arbetsförmedlingen. Relocation support exists if you take a job outside your current area. It includes travel compensation for interviews, hotel-cost reimbursement with prior approval, and labour-market training courses run in shortage areas.
LinkedIn and the Other Channels Arbetsförmedlingen Itself Lists
LinkedIn's jobs tab is one channel among several on Arbetsförmedlingen's own "more ways to find a job" page, not the primary one.
That same page lists spontaneous applications, phrased directly as "Submit a spontaneous application! The employer might become interested." It also lists staffing agencies, job fairs held over one to three days, following employers on Instagram and Facebook groups, and LinkedIn's jobs tab, per Arbetsförmedlingen. For seasonal sectors, including summer tourism, winter ski facilities, and holiday retail, Arbetsförmedlingen recommends contacting employers proactively before the season starts, rather than waiting for a Platsbanken listing to appear.
Networking, in Arbetsförmedlingen's Own Words
The same page frames networking as asking specific people directly, not attending generic events.
Arbetsförmedlingen's listed prompt is to "ask your network for tips," naming family members, neighbours, former colleagues, and friends as the people to ask, per Arbetsförmedlingen. The same page references digitalajag.se, a program that teaches job searching and CV writing.
The Work-Permit Rule That Decides Who Can Apply for What
If you are an EU/EEA or Swiss citizen, none of the following applies to you. If not, your employer's advertising choice is not optional.
As an EU/EEA or Swiss citizen, you can start work in Sweden without a permit, and the advertising requirement below does not apply to you. As a non-EU/EEA citizen, you need a job offer and a work permit from Migrationsverket. Your employer must advertise the vacancy in Sweden and across the EU/EEA and Switzerland for at least ten days, using Arbetsförmedlingen's job placement portal or an equivalent EURES-standard channel. Your employer can sign the employment agreement only after that period ends, per Migrationsverket.
The rule is rarely explained this way, but the ten-day window exists to test whether a qualified EU/EEA candidate was available first, before your employer turns to a non-EU/EEA hire. Only after that advertising window closes does the work permit itself become the next step.
The offered salary must reach at least 90 percent of the median salary, currently SEK 34,470 a month as of June 2026, per Migrationsverket, or the applicable Swedish collective agreement figure if higher. Check both figures against what the salary threshold means against actual living costs before accepting an offer. A reduced 75 percent threshold applies to specific IT, healthcare, agricultural, forestry, and trade occupations listed in the Aliens Ordinance, plus former students or researchers within a two-year window. It also covers certain foreign-qualified healthcare professionals and employees of qualifying tech and life-science startups. New rules, including the revised salary requirement, took effect on 1 June 2026, per Migrationsverket.
| Threshold | Monthly salary | Who it covers |
|---|
| Standard, 90% of the median | SEK 34,470 | Most work-permit occupations |
| Reduced, 75% of the median | SEK 28,725 | Specific IT, healthcare, agricultural, forestry, and trade occupations in the Aliens Ordinance; former students or researchers within two years; certain foreign-qualified healthcare professionals; employees of qualifying tech and life-science startups |
Figures per Migrationsverket, current as of June 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Platsbanken have an English-language version?
Yes. Arbetsförmedlingen's English-language pages describe Platsbanken as searchable using English-language terms, though most individual listings assume Swedish fluency, per Arbetsförmedlingen.
Does LinkedIn replace Platsbanken?
No. Arbetsförmedlingen lists LinkedIn's jobs tab as one of several supplementary channels on its own "more ways to find a job" page, alongside spontaneous applications and staffing agencies.
Can a non-EU/EEA citizen sign a job contract before the ten-day advertising period ends?
No. Per Migrationsverket, the employment agreement must be signed only after the advertising period has expired.
Platsbanken Lists the Jobs, but the Ten-Day Advertising Rule Decides Who Can Apply First
Platsbanken, run by Arbetsförmedlingen, is Sweden's largest employment website and can be searched using Swedish or English-language terms. Arbetsförmedlingen also runs a skills profile, sector-specific EURES advisers, and email contacts by field, separate from the Platsbanken listings. It lists LinkedIn as one of several "more ways to find a job," alongside spontaneous applications and networking. If you are a non-EU/EEA citizen, you need a job offer and a work permit from Migrationsverket. Your employer must advertise the post in Sweden and across the EU/EEA and Switzerland for at least ten days before signing the contract. EU/EEA citizens are not covered by that rule.
The channel search and the permit route are two halves of the same task. Once you sign a contract, a-kassa and the personnummer and BankID chain a new hire runs into next are the steps that follow.
Sources
- Arbetsförmedlingen, "Find your new job in Sweden": Platsbanken's scope, search options, and the 71,843-vacancy count. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
- Arbetsförmedlingen, "Where are the jobs?": sector list, regional shortages, and relocation support. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
- Arbetsförmedlingen, "More ways to find a job": LinkedIn, spontaneous applications, staffing agencies, job fairs, and networking guidance. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
- Migrationsverket, "Employing someone from outside the EU/EEA, employment": the ten-day advertising rule, signing order, and salary thresholds. Retrieved 1 September 2026.