Half of the labour shortage was in the metropolitan counties
Half of the labour shortage employers experienced in 2025 was in Stockholm, Västra Götaland and Skåne County. This is shown by new regional labour market statistics from Statistics Sweden.
Half of the labour shortage employers experienced in 2025 was in Stockholm, Västra Götaland and Skåne County. This is shown by new regional labour market statistics from Statistics Sweden.
The number of ongoing employments increased by 1.1 percent compared to April the previous year. During the same period, hours worked increased by 3.2 percent, amounting to 682 million hours. The proportion of sickness absence was 1.7 percent. The total gross pay was 208 000 million SEK.
The volume of retail trade decreased by 0.2 percent in May 2026 compared with April 2026. Retail sales in durables remained unchanged (0.0 percent) while retail sales in consumables (excluding Systembolaget, the state-owned chain of liquor stores) decreased by 0.5 percent. These figures are calendar and seasonally adjusted and calculated in constant prices.
In May 2026, Swedish exports of goods amounted to SEK 180.8 billion, and imports of goods amounted to SEK 177.9 billion. As a result, the net trade balance was SEK 2.9 billion.
In April, exports of goods increased by 8 percent in value and by 5 percent in volume compared with the same period last year. At the same time, imports of goods increased by 17 percent in value and by 8 percent in volume.