Room for the Integration Paradox? Exploring Ukrainian Refugees’ Labor Market Integration Experiences in Norway

The focus on rapid labor market integration within the introduction programme for Ukrainian refugees in Norway creates challenges for this group in securing jobs that align with their education and prior work experience. This disparity compared to other refugee groups and the majority population may foster a sense of "relative deprivation"—the perception of being unfairly disadvantaged compared to others (Pettigrew et al., 2008). Relative deprivation has been linked to less positive attitudes toward the host society’s social system and reduced confidence in its political institutions. Given that most Ukrainian refugees arriving in Norway hold higher education degrees, their experiences of relative deprivation may lead to disengagement from the host society, a phenomenon previously examined as the "integration paradox" (Verkuyten, 2016). This paper aims to investigate whether Ukrainian refugees’ labor market experiences in Norway—such as being employed or unemployed, working in roles aligned with their qualifications, holding part-time or full-time jobs, or occupying temporary or permanent positions—influence their sense of belonging to Norway, confidence in Norwegian political institutions, and future plans. Specifically, it examines how rapid labor market integration affects refugees’ satisfaction with the host society and whether this dynamic can be interpreted through the lens of the integration paradox. The temporariness of Ukrainian refugees’ stay in Norway offers a distinctive perspective on the integration paradox, which traditionally does not account for the influence of time and temporariness. To address this research question, the paper draws on both quantitative data (a survey of Ukrainian refugees in Norway, n=1547, 2024) and qualitative data (38 semi-structured interviews), conducted as part of the UKRAFLY2 and UKRINT research projects.