Swedish gov't puts forth migration spending hike

The Swedish government on Wednesday proposed heavy spending to tackle the influx of migrants into the country.

The government has set aside an additional 31 billion SEK (3.8 billion U.S. dollars) to handle the integration of migrants into society in its spring budget, the Finance Ministry said in a statement.

That more than doubles its total spending on migration during 2015.

"The government continues to handle the refugee situation in the spring budget and has pointed a future direction where building society comes before raising taxes," Finance Minister Magdalena Andersson said.

Next year, nearly 29 billion SEK (3.6 billion U.S. dollars) will be allocated to housing benefits and other costs incurred by asylum seekers, with 2.2 billion SEK (271 million U.S. dollars) going toward administrative expenses at the country's Migration Agency.

The center-left government also set aside 150 million SEK (18.5 million U.S. dollars) to deal with security concerns at asylum housing centers, it said.

Some 160,000 people applied for asylum in Sweden during 2015, according to figures from the Migration Agency.

Sweden's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 4 percent last year, clearly beating annual averages over the past two decades, public broadcaster Swedish Television reported.

Unemployment dropped during 2015 and is now at around 7 percent, the lowest it has been for seven years, the channel reported.

The Swedish government's aim of having the lowest unemployment rate in the European Union by 2020 remains, the Finance Ministry said.

The spring budget is one of two annual budgets put forth by Swedish government and is subject to parliamentary approval in June every year. (1 U.S. dollar = 8.1 SEK) Endit