Population by Labour market status, July 2023
Employment continued to increase in July
Statistical news from Statistics Sweden 2023-09-28 8.00
People in employment aged 15 to 74 numbered 5 385 000 in July 2023. This is an increase of 51 000 people compared with July 2022. In the 16 to 64 age range, 243 000 people were unemployed. This equals a share of 4.5 percent expressed as a percentage of the labour force and a decrease of 0.2 percentage points compared with the same period of the previous year.
People in employment
The number of people in employment aged 15 to 74 increased in July 2023 by 51 000 compared with the same period of 2022, amounting to 5 385 000. Fewer women than men were employed. A total of 2 617 000 women and 2 767 000 men were employed.
The employment rate – the number of employed people in relation to the population – was 69.9 percent among women and 71.2 percent among men. Compared with July 2022, the employment rate increased by 0.6 percentage points for women but was unchanged for men. The employment rate is largely affected by the demographic composition of the population, which is of significance when comparing municipalities, for example. Young and older people tend to have a lower employment rate and are present in other labour market status categories.
The unemployed
The number of unemployed people aged 16 to 64 in July 2023 was 243 000. This is a decrease of 5 000 people compared with the same month in 2022. A total of 118 000 women and 125 000 men were unemployed.
The relative unemployment rate - the proportion of unemployed people in relation to the labour force - was 4.5 percent for both women and men. This equals a reduction in unemployment among women of 0.2 percentage points, and 0.1 percentage points among men compared with the same period of 2022.
Unemployment is higher among foreign born people than among those born in Sweden. Unemployed foreign born people aged 16 to 64 numbered 140 000 in July 2023. This is a decrease of 7 000 compared with July 2022. The number of unemployed foreign born women was 75 000 and the number of unemployed foreign born men was 64 000.
The relative unemployment rate was, among foreign born people, 12.1 percent for women and 9.6 percent for men. This corresponds to a reduction in unemployment among women of 1.1 percentage points, and 0.5 percentage points among men compared with the same period of 2022.
People outside the labour force
The number of people outside the labour force aged 20 to 64 was 846 000 in July 2023. This equals a share of 14.2 percent expressed as a proportion of the population in the same age group. Compared to the same period of 2022, the number of people outside the labour force increased by 6 000 and the proportion is unchanged. There were about the same number of women as men outside the labour force in July.
The labour market status categories that are outside the labour force are student, pensioner, sick and others. There are fewer people outside the labour force in the summer than during other parts of the year. This is mainly because some people who are students during term time work during the summer and are classified as employed.
Definitions and explanations
BAS, Labour market status of the population, presents statistics based on administrative data concerning aspects such as number of people in employment, unemployed people, and people outside the labour force for the registered population aged 15 to 74. The statistics can be used to describe current status, but also the progression over time. It illuminates both the entire population and smaller groups, such as detailed age groups at the municipal level.
The statistics contain estimates of the number of people broken down by labour market status: Employed, unemployed, student, pensioner, sick and others, with the labour force consisting of employed people and the unemployed. The definition of labour market status is hierarchical, which means that a person can only be assigned one labour market status, and it is determined according to the order of precedence above.
Statistics Sweden launched the product “Labour market status of the population” (BAS) in May 2022. From September 2023 BAS is official statistics and will be published monthly.
Feel free to use the facts from this statistical news but remember to state Source: Statistics Sweden.