This article explores the expansion of the private sector labour market for social workers in Sweden and analyses social workers’ motives for choosing work as temporary agency social workers. The study draws on quantitative data from official registers and qualitative interviews with social workers who have left the social services for careers as temporary agency social workers.

The findings indicate that the vast majority of Swedish social workers continue to work in the public sector, but due to significant changes in welfare production, more social workers are finding employment in the private sector labour market. Both pull factors associated with the conditions of private sector employment and push factors linked to working conditions in the social services appear to be at play when Swedish social workers choose private alternatives.

Previous studies have revealed adverse working conditions, high turnover rates and recruitment problems in the social services. The results of this article explore the most significant push factors for opting out of social services in Sweden. Several of these factors are associated with the organisational climate and management, suggesting that they could be addressed by ensuring adequate social support and supervision. Other push factors relate to stress and overload, which are known issues in social services. All of these factors require further attention if the social services are to be competitive in the broadened labour market of social work.