Inflation and interest rate increases are causing concern in Filipstad

Filipstad stands out on the map.

But not in the most flattering way.

This is where most adults throughout the country go on social benefits and grants.

– It’s depressing as hell, says Filipstad resident Janne Bergwall.

In the garden outside the yellow brick house ten minutes’ walk from central Filipstad, the children play on the climbing frame. On the balcony, Fanny Folkesson talks about how increased food prices and rising interest rates have begun to be felt in reality in the old mining community in Värmland.

– It is noticeable in life, in the outdoor life in Filipstad. If you drive through town at seven o’clock, it’s completely dead, says Fanny Folkesson.

Since 2019, together with Sandra Persson, she runs the association “Julhjälpen i Filipstad med omnejd”. According to Save the Children child poverty report from 2021, almost every third child in the municipality lives in economic vulnerability.

Sandra and Fanny try to help these children in particular, by collecting money and buying Christmas presents.

– Most often it is single mothers who contact us, single or on sick leave, says Sandra Persson.

Fanny Folkesson tells:

– The single mothers, they can sort of have a job, but then it still doesn’t go around. One we helped worked as an hourly temp. She took every pass she got, but still didn’t make it through Christmas. Then of course you feel that you are making a difference, when you can help.

“It’s terribly expensive”

Hanna Johansson, mother of two teenagers and two small children, sits on a bench next to Stora Torget in Filipstad. She works in healthcare but is on parental leave at the moment.

– You notice it in the food prices, nappies, food and everything. It’s terribly expensive, it costs thousands of dollars. Parental allowance is not enough for long, she says.

Although times are tough, Hanna’s family manages financially. Her partner works full-time in the defense industry. But among the parents at the open preschool, the state of the world is clearly noticeable.

– It is very sensitive to talk about. But there are many who are single, and some who do not work. Then it can be difficult.

Filipstad is located in eastern Värmland, about 50 kilometers from the larger towns of Karlstad and Karlskoga. The median income here belongs the country’s lowestand many are completely outside the labor market.

According to Statistics Sweden in 2022, every fifth adult resident of Filipstad was supported by social allowances and grants. This means the largest share in the country.

The alienation that follows is difficult to break, believes Filipstad resident Fredd Holm.

– It is difficult to get into work. Here there are not many opportunities to get into education and then there are rules and requirements on the labor market, he says.

Many get stuck outside the labor market

Fredd says that many friends and acquaintances in the Filipstad region have become ill or injured themselves – and then stuck outside the labor market.

– A friend ended up abusing tablets after injuring his back. She became completely adrift and left to her own devices. When you stand by and see a friend end up in that situation, you feel extremely powerless.

He tries to help friends with authority contacts and support, not least because he himself has experience of contact with care.

– You feel a sense of human responsibility. I walk and think a lot about these people, I get a lump in my stomach and ice in my chest. You think, what can I do as an individual to help, he says.

New management in the municipality

Since Filipstad’s municipality was formed in 1971, the Social Democrats have ruled in the municipal council – until autumn 2022, when a coalition consisting of the Moderates, the Sweden Democrats, the Liberals and the Center Party took power.

Now Christer Olsson (M) is the chairman of the municipal board. Since taking office, he says that the focus has been on getting the municipality’s finances in balance – currently SEK 28 million a year goes to support, a figure Olsson wants to halve.

– We demand compensation for livelihood support, that you must do social good. We have already had a number of individuals out in our nursing homes and childcare, cleaning public areas.

Is it possible to progress on the job market from there?

– We have seen that some of those who are out cleaning, there they have thought that they are so good that they are considering hiring them as substitutes. Then you get a foot into the labor market, a real job and a real salary, says Christer Olsson.

The municipality’s organization must also be reviewed so that the cost suit can be reduced. Currently, the municipality of Filipstad has 10,600 inhabitants and 1,150 employees.

– I don’t want to criticize the municipality. I really understand that it is difficult to get a budget together when it looks like it does, that it has been difficult for people to get a job, says Filipstad resident Fredd Holm.

He thinks that the pandemic resulting from the inflation and interest rate shock has taken its toll on the municipality. Hanna Johansson, on parental leave, agrees:

– It will be a strain on the families. I walk around the house by myself and worry about the finances. And you notice that people feel worse, and it becomes more difficult to get them to hook on things, she says.

Shop premises boom again

Since the 1970s, the population in Filipstad has decreased by almost 40 percent. Janne Bergwall, who runs a café at the community’s Ica store, is in her 60s and has seen how Filipstad has changed.

He thinks that emigration and poverty have led to city life becoming more boring.

– Sometimes I hear the people sitting there in the café talking say something like: “It’s 5:52 p.m. now. Then I think I’ll go home and go to bed”. That’s the kind of thing we hear in Filipstad, it’s depressing as hell, says Janne Bergwall.

The city center has changed. Handelsbanken’s, Swedbank’s and Nordea’s former offices stand empty, as do many other shop premises on the square.

Along the streets in the center of the community, it is primarily smaller grocery stores and several businesses within job coaching that are open. A short distance away is a blocked-off hotel and restaurant business that previously also served as refugee accommodation.

– Försäkringskassan and Arbetsförmedlingen have moved, and if you have the same bank as I do, you have to go to Karlskoga or Karlstad to do your business. It will be extra difficult now that fuel prices are as they are, says Fredd Holm.

In recent years, the social administration in Filipstad has had to deal with problems linked to the pandemic, great need for support efforts and a lack of skills in care and social care.

Added to that is the threat from the wave of inflation and interest rate increases – only five Swedish municipalities have a greater proportion of indebtedness to Bailiff than Filipstad.

– We notice the need for help all the time, we have not noticed any particular inflation peak. But that’s probably because we had such high pressure for many years, says social manager Åsa Andersson.

“Meat and cheese, I’ll stick to it again”

Filipstad residents worry that the tough economic times will affect the supply and life in the city center more.

– I am afraid that even more stores will close. It’s very unpleasant when that happens, says Janne Bergwall.

Above all, the prices of food and petrol have had an impact on the individual level. Both Hanna Johansson and Fredd Holm say that they changed their behavior inside the grocery stores.

– You stand there and think, weigh and feel. A bit more luxurious food like meat and cheese, that’s what we’re doing again, says Fredd Holm.

He says that he gets to plan his finances for as long a period as possible.

– You have to think in a much longer perspective, set a good budget so that it lasts. If a medical visit or something is needed, it shouldn’t upset everything.

Want to balance the image of Filipstad

However, many are keen to balance the image of Filipstad. For example, local residents emphasize the scenic location, the proximity to larger cities and the fact that housing is often much cheaper than in other parts of the country.

– If I had wanted to buy the same house that I have here in a suburb of Stockholm… then I would probably have had to live in a playhouse, perhaps, says Hanna Johansson.

By the end of 2022 reported the Nya Wermlands-Tidningen that Filipstad’s company had the best growth in Värmland during the year. The municipal management wants to invest in business and education to reverse negative trends.

– We are trying to adapt our high school so that we can keep our own young people, and attract young people from other municipalities, says Christer Olsson (M).

A lot of work is also done by local zealots, who, among other things, organize events and festivities inside the center.

– There are many abilities that want to help. It gives you a lot of joy when you can lift someone else up. We need this, things that bring people together and social meeting points, says Filipstad resident Fredd Holm.

Concerns before Christmas: “More people need help”

Two of the residents of Filipstad who fight to make the lives of others better, Fanny Folkesson and Sandra Persson, are already planning this year’s Christmas aid effort in the middle of the summer. They believe that something completely different awaits than previous winters.

Already in the spring of this year, Filipstad residents started contacting their Facebook page – despite the fact that they never had any organized help activities except during Christmas.

– People ask if we have the opportunity to help with food bags, outerwear and the like. You notice that something has happened. There are also new families who contact us, whom we have not met when we helped before. But now there are more people who need help, says Fanny.

Both Fanny and Sandra work in healthcare. They have financed the Christmas aid through contributions from their own income, together with support from local business and private individuals.

– While I think more people will seek help this year, we will probably receive less money from companies and private individuals, says Sandra Persson.

In previous years, they have used money left over from Christmas gift shopping to hand out gift cards for food.

– It feels like it will be more difficult to afford it now. And at the same time, you see for yourself when you go shopping that SEK 500 in food money may not feel like much help right now, says Sandra Persson.