The number of first-time work permit granted in June shot up by 58 percent from May to a total of 1,515, on the back of a surge in grants of berry pickers, forestry workers, IT architects and system developers – all jobs potentially covered by an exemption giving them a lower salary requirement, new statistics showed.

The number of berry pickers and planters granted permits to work on plantations rose almost tenfold from 76 in May to 733 in June, indicating that growers were waiting for the job to be included within the list of those that only have to earn 75 percent of Sweden's median wage.

The number of permits granted to forestry workers, another relatively low skilled job on the list, almost doubled from 36 to 69.

The number of permits granted to IT architects and Systems Developers, meanwhile, rose from 120 to 151, while the number granted to engineers and technicians rose from 52 to 81.

READ ALSO: Sweden exempts 27 jobs from higher work permit salary threshold

The new higher threshold for a work permit, set at 90 percent of the median wage, came into force on June 1st, bringing with it an exemption for 27 in-demand jobs which only have to earn 75 percent of the median wage to quality for a permit.

International hires made by startups with less than 100 employees which have been operating for less than five years also only have to earn 75 percent of the median wage to be eligible.

Several jobs which were not included in the list of professions given a lower threshold, such as cleaners, cooks, fast-food chefs, carpenters and bricklayers, received a lower number of permits.

The number of permits granted to cleaners fell from 25 to 15, to cooks from 56 to 32, to fast food personnel from 31 to 18, and to carpenters and bricklayers from 32 to 12.