In 2018, almost 40 people were fired in Statistics Sweden's interview year. Almost half of them were over 60 and had worked for more than ten years as a field interviewer.

SVT has talked to about ten of them. Everyone feels a strong professional pride in the work they have done for Statistics Sweden with complex large interviews where experience has often been crucial. Almost all SVT talked to feel ill-treated by the authority.

Hard to get new jobs

Many of the dismissed people lived in rural areas where it is more difficult to get new jobs.

Lena Berglund had worked for ten years at Statistics Sweden when she was laid off.

- My idea was to work to 67 because I have a lousy pension. But I am happy that at least I had to fill 65 and receive a guarantee pension, she says.

Increasing cost of interviews

For a long time, Statistics Sweden's telephone interview surveys have had problems. There are fewer and fewer people who want to answer the questions, the mobile phone has made it more difficult to find the right people - the so-called response rate has been falling year after year at the same time as the investigations have therefore become increasingly costly.

According to Statistics Sweden's acting head of department Magnus Sjöström, the dismissal of Statistics Sweden's interview staff was necessary. The costs for the interview work increased and the quality decreased. Their work was outsourced to external companies.

- We have to save on tax assets, says Magnus Sjöström.