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The Swedish Occupational Register with statistics 2019

Most common occupation was “assistant nurses, home care and homes for the elderly”

Statistical news from Statistics Sweden 2021-03-04 9.30

The most common occupation in Sweden was “assistant nurses, home care and homes for the elderly”. Women accounted for 91 percent and men accounted for 9 percent of people with this occupation. It was also the most common occupation among women. The most common occupation among men was “warehouse and terminal staff”, which was the fifth most common occupation overall. Men accounted for 77 percent and women accounted for 23 percent of people with this occupation.

Among the 30 largest occupations, the distribution by sex was even within four occupations; “cooks and cold-buffet managers”, of which 50 percent were women and 50 percent were men, had the most even balance between the sexes. An even balance means that the distribution between the sexes is 40 percent and 60 percent respectively.

The 30 most common occupations in Sweden among employees aged 16-64 years, 2019

Graph: The 30 most common occupations in Sweden among employees aged 16-64 years, 2019

The most common occupation for women was “assistant nurses, home care and homes for the elderly”, of whom there were 119 900 employees with an average age of 45 years, followed by “child care workers”, of whom there were 83 610 employees with an average age of 40 years.

The 10 most common occupations in Sweden among women who were employees aged 16-64 years, 2019
Occupation1 Total number of womenTotal numer of menPercent, womenAverage age, women
Assistant nurses, home care and homes for the elderly
119 900 12 410 91 45
Child care workers
83 610 9 560 90 40
Primary school teachers
80 880 27 960 74 43
Shop sales, specialty stores
68 440 43 140 61 33
Preschool teachers
64 680 2 900 96 43
Home-based personal care and related workers
58 160 20 420 74 36
Shop sales, groceries
56 940 30 060 65 34
Cleaners and helpers in offices, hotels and other establishments
56 830 20 740 73 44
Office clerks not elsewhere classified
55 250 15 030 79 44
Personal care providers
50 440 18 160 74 43

1According to the Swedish Standard Classification of Occupations 2012 (SSYK2012) at a four-digit level. The figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 

The most common occupation for men was “warehouse and terminal staff”, of whom there were 68 390 employees with an average age of 37 years, followed by “software and system developers”, of whom there were 65 780 employees with an average age of 40 years.

The 10 most common occupations in Sweden among men who were employees aged 16-64 years, 2019
Occupation1 Total number of menTotal numer of womenPercent, menAverage age, men
Warehouse and terminal Staff
68 390 20 260 77 37
Software- and system developers
65 780 15 190 81 40
Commercial sales representatives
64 400 23 990 73 44
Heavy truck and lorry drivers
53 600 4 080 93 42
Woodworkers, carpenters
45 890 610 99 40
shop sales, specialty stores
43 140 68 440 39 35
Machine-tool operators
43 100 7 360 85 42
Building caretakers
35 000 6 590 84 46
Electricians, installation and service
33 060 760 98 37
Vehicle mechanics and repairers
32 240 1 080 97 39

1 According to the Swedish Standard Classification of Occupations 2012 (SSYK2012) at a four-digit level. The figures are rounded to the nearest 10.

Definitions and explanations

Information concerning employees is reported for those aged 16-64 years classified as gainfully employed in the register-based labour market statistics (RAMS). The classification of gainfully employed persons is mainly based on the monthly employer reports at individual level from the Swedish Tax Agency. To be classified as gainfully employed, the person must have received a salary in November that exceeds SEK 99, or must conduct a business activity. In addition, the person must be entered in the population register in Sweden on 31 December and be aged between 16 and 74 years old. Even those who were temporarily absent during the measurement period, for instance due to sickness or parental leave, are included in the frame. The term ‘employee’ also includes self-employed persons who run their operations as a limited company.

The occupations follow the classifications used in the Swedish Standard Classification of Occupations (SSYK 2012).

Next publishing will be

The next statistical news in this series will be published in March 2022.

Statistical Database

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