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WORKING IN SWEDEN

Swedish long-term unemployment continues to rise

Long-term unemployment rose for the second month in a row last month, according to new figures from Statistics Sweden.

Published: 23 August 2024 11:02 CEST
Swedish long-term unemployment continues to rise
Almost one in four young people were unemployed last month, once figures are seasonally adjusted and smoothed. Photo: Jessica Gow/TT

“In July, long-term unemployment rose by 45,000 people compared to July last year,” Statistics Sweden statistician Louise Stener said in a statement.

The agency recently said that the Swedish economy is in a “clear recession” according to almost all indicators, and unemployment figures are also reflecting that.

The number of people aged 15-74 who were in work amounted to 5,444,000 individuals, not seasonally adjusted – that’s a decrease of 80,000 compared to July last year, but not all of those people were classified as long-term unemployed (unemployed for at least 27 weeks).

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Long-term unemployment amounted to 164,000 people, with significant differences when broken down by age and gender.

There were 71,000 women and 93,000 men in long-term unemployment, and 149,000 young people (aged 15-24 years). Youth unemployment hit 17.7 percent, which is an increase of 6.5 percentage points. This data is not smoothed or seasonally adjusted.

The unemployment rate for 15-74 year olds according to smoothed and seasonally adjusted data stood at 8.3 percent – that’s the highest unemployment rate in a decade, including the pandemic. Youth unemployment was even higher, at 24.4 percent.

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WORKING IN SWEDEN

Is there light on the horizon for the Sweden labour market?

The Swedish labour market didn’t exactly jolt back to life as summer came to an end in August, but there are signs that it could be picking up pace after a slow few years.

Published: 18 September 2024 11:23 CEST
Is there light on the horizon for the Sweden labour market?

Seasonally adjusted and smoothed, Sweden’s unemployment rate stood at 8.4 percent in August, the same as the previous month but higher than the same month last year.

But there’s a glimmer of hope.

“The development of the labour market appeared subdued in August. However, some positive signals can be observed. The seasonally adjusted and smoothed employment number is increasing, similar to the previous month,” said Philip Krantz, statistician for official number-crunchers Statistics Sweden’s labour force surveys, in a statement.

A total of 5,257,000 people aged 15-74 were employed in August, amounting to an employment rate of 69.2 percent, again seasonally adjusted and smoothed.

That’s an increase both in terms of the exact number and the proportion of employed people compared to recent months, noted Statistics Sweden in the report.

FACING A LAYOFF IN SWEDEN?

Youth unemployment remains high, with an unemployment rate of 23.8 percent among people aged 15-24 – or in other words, 164,000 jobless people in that age group.

So is there light on the horizon?

Yes, but so far just a flicker. The government warned last month that Sweden is seeing its highest unemployment rate in a decade, excluding the years of the pandemic, with Liberal leader Johan Pehrson calling on people to “make themselves employable”.

In the past year, several major tech companies have announced significant layoffs, with green transition star Northvolt the latest player to warn of a reduction to its workforce.

The market is still moving slowly, but on the brighter side, the current recession is expected to bottom out this year, which should have a positive impact on jobs.

Labour analysts have said they believe 2025 will bring about a turnaround in the labour market, but it is still likely going to take some time before Sweden is back to the same unemployment level as it was before the recession and cost-of-living crisis.

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