- The number of employees continued to increase in April 2023, especially among the permanent employees. Overall, the labour market still shows no clear signs of slowing down, says Matilda Wedtström Kjerfh, statistician at the Labour Force Surveys at SCB.

Labour force

In April 2023, the number of people in the labour force aged 15–74 was 5 657 000. The number of women in the labour force was 2 654 000 and the number of men in the labour force was 3 004 000, an increase of 64 000. The relative labour force participation rate amounted to 74.8 percent. Among women it was 71.5 percent and among men 77.9 percent.

Seasonally adjusted and smoothed data shows an increase in both the number and the share of persons in the labour force compared with nearby months. The number of people in the labour force amounted to 5 684 000, corresponding to a labour force participation rate of 75.1 percent.

Employment

In April 2023, there were 5 234 000 employed people aged 15–74, not seasonally adjusted. This is an increase of 82 000 persons compared to April 2022. The number of employed women was 2 453 000 and the number of employed men increased with 59 000 to 2 781 000. The employment rate amounted to 69.2 percent. Among women the employment rate was 66.1 percent and among men it was 72.1 percent.

For seasonally adjusted and smoothed data, the number of employed people aged 15–74 amounted to 5 273 000 and the employment rate was 69.7 percent. This is an increase in both the number and the share of employed persons compared with recent months.

Employees

In April 2023, there were 4 724 000 employees, not seasonally adjusted, which is an increase of 74 000 compared to April 2022. Among those, 2 298 000 were women and 2 425 000 were men. There were 4 035 000 permanent employees, an increase of 91 000. Among permanent employees the number of women was 1 927 000, an increase of 61 000, and the number of men was 2 108 000. The number of temporary employees amounted to 689 000, of which 372 000 were women and 317 000 were men.

For seasonally adjusted and smoothed data, the number of employees increased compared to nearby months and amounted to 4 759 000. The corresponding figure for permanent employees was 4 031 000 and for temporary employees 727 000. Compared with nearby months, seasonally adjusted and smoothed data shows an increase in the number of permanent employees.

Hours worked

The average number of hours worked in April 2023 amounted to 157.3 million per week, not seasonally adjusted. In calendar adjusted figures, this corresponds to an increase of 2.3 percent compared with April 2022.

According to seasonally adjusted and smoothed data there was an increase in the average number of hours worked compared with nearby months. The number of hours amounted to 160.1 million per week.

Unemployment

In April 2023, there were 423 000 unemployed people aged 15–74 years, not seasonally adjusted. The corresponding unemployment rate amounted to 7.5 percent. The number of unemployed women was 201 000, a decrease of 40 000, and the number of unemployed men was 223 000. The unemployment rate for women was 7.6 percent and the unemployment rate for men was 7.4 percent. The number of long-term unemployed (unemployed for at least 27 weeks) was 122 000. Among the long-term unemployed, 54 000 were women and 69 000 were men. There were 145 000 unemployed young people aged 15–24, corresponding to an unemployment rate of 22.4 percent. Among unemployed young people, 103 000 persons were full-time students.

For seasonally adjusted and smoothed data there were 410 000 unemployed people. Compared with nearby months the unemployment rate decreased and amounted to 7.2 percent among people aged 15-74 years. Among young people aged 15–24, seasonally adjusted and smoothed data shows that the number of unemployed amounted to 141 000, corresponding to an unemployment rate of 21.0 percent. This is a decrease in both the number and share of unemployed people in this age group, compared with nearby months.

Unused labour supply

Unemployed people, underemployed people and latent job seekers together comprise the unused labour supply. In April 2023, the unused labour supply averaged 20.6 million hours per week. The unused labour supply corresponds to 515 000 full-time employments with 40-hour work weeks. Latent job seekers amounted to 208 000 people, which is a decrease of 43 000, and the number of underemployed increased by 57 000 to 320 000 people.

2023-06-13, 08:00.