Swedish Government Moves to Relax Student Income Limits as Job Market Stalls

The Swedish government announced a proposal to ease the fribelopp – the income ceiling that determines whether a student’s financial aid is affected. Under the current rules, a full‑time student can earn up to SEK 103,203 in the first half‑year and SEK 126,149 in the second half‑year before repayment triggers. About 14,000 students have already been told they must repay aid for earnings in 2024, and the new plan would exempt summer earnings and consider extending the maximum duration of study grants.

A separate survey by Sveriges Ingenjörer found that only one quarter of engineering students secured summer jobs that required their technical training. While half of the roughly 20,000 engineering students obtained some form of summer work, most positions did not utilize their engineering skills, and an estimated 6,000 applicants reported not finding any summer job at all. The study highlights a mismatch between employers’ expressed need for engineers and the limited use of student engineering competence in summer hiring.