Trends on the Danish labour market in the 20th century, and the outlook for the 21st

The paper presents a brief survey of characteristics of the development of the 20th century Danish labour market The focus is on the interaction between the developing welfare state and the functioning of the labour market Trends in the labour force and in employment are discussed, and unemployment is considered as one of the major problems of the century Next, the strong trend towards increasing equality in the distribution of wages is discussed together with some of the major trends in institutional settings including the role of the various organizations, the development of unemployment insurance, and the present challenge of "making work pay" without abolishing central elements in a welfare state which enjoys broad political support.