Labour force

In April 2020, there were 5 455 000 persons aged 15–74 in the labour force, not seasonally adjusted. There were 2 912 000 men and 2 542 000 women in the labour force. The labour force participation rate among persons aged 15─74 was 72.4 percent. For men, the labour force participation rate was 75.9 percent. For women the labour force participation rate was 68.7 percent, a decrease of 1.5 percentage points.

Seasonally adjusted and smoothed data shows that there were 5 480 000 persons in the labour force. This is a decrease of 68 000 persons compared with February 2020, when the effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak were not yet discernible in the Swedish labour market. The labour force participation rate was 72.7 percent, a decrease of 0.9 percentage points compared with February 2020.

Employment

In April 2020, there were 5 005 000 employed persons aged 15─74, not seasonally adjusted, which is a decrease of 99 000 persons compared with April 2019. There were 2 660 000 employed men, while the number of employed women decreased by 60 000 and amounted to 2 345 000. The employment rate was 66.4 percent, a decrease of 1.7 percentage points. Among men, the employment rate was 69.4 percent. Among women, the employment rate was 63.4 percent, a decrease of 1.9 percentage points.

Seasonally adjusted and smoothed data shows that there were 5 048 000 employed persons, which is a decrease of 108 000 compared with February 2020. The employment rate was 67.0 percent, a decrease of 1.5 percentage points compared with February 2020.

Employees

In April 2020, there were 4 466 000 employees, not seasonally adjusted, which is a decrease of 111 000 persons compared with April 2019. Among men, there were 2 266 000 employees, while among women the number of employees decreased by 65 000 and amounted to 2 200 000 employees. There were 3 811 000 permanent employees aged 15-74 in April 2020. Among men, the number of permanent employees was 1 961 000 and among women it was 1 850 000.

There were 654 000 temporary employees, a decrease of 71 000 compared with April 2019. Among temporary employees, 305 000 were men and 350 000 were women. Compared with February 2020, smoothed and seasonally adjusted data shows a large decrease in both the number of permanent employees and the number of temporary employees.

Hours worked

On average, the number of hours worked in April 2020 amounted to 145.8 million per week, not seasonally adjusted, a decrease of 9.9 percent in calendar adjusted figures compared with April 2019.

The largest decrease was in Hotels and restaurants, where the number of hours worked, calendar adjusted, decreased by 34.0 percent compared with April 2019. Personal and cultural services decreased by 18.7 percent and Manufacturing of metal products, machinery and equipmentdecreased by 16.1 percent. Decreases were also noted in Manufacturing, mining and quarrying, energy and environment, Trade, Financial activities and business services, as well as in Health and social care.

Seasonally adjusted and smoothed data shows a sharp drop in the number of hours worked compared with adjacent months, on average amounting to 141.6 million hours per week, which is 13.6 million hours less per week than in February 2020.

In work and absence

There were 4 361 000 persons employed and in work in April 2020, which is 252 000 fewer than in the same month a year ago. This decrease can be explained, in part, by a decrease in the number of employed persons, but also by an increase in the number of persons absent for the full week.

The LFS estimates the number of persons who were absent the whole week or part of the week from their principal occupation by main reason for absence. There were 657 000 persons absent for the full week, which is 154 000 more than in April 2019. Among these, 214 000 were absent due to illness, which is an increase of 82 000. The number of persons absent for the whole week due to lack of work increased to 52 000, and the number of persons absent due to lay-offs increased to 68 000. Normally, in the LFS it is not possible to report the number of persons absent due to lay-offs or lack of work since there are too few to make certain estimates. On the other hand, the number of persons who were absent due to holidays decreased to 80 000, which is half as many as a year ago.

Among persons who are absent due to lack of work or lay-offs, it is common that the absence is only for a part of the week. The total number of persons absent for the whole week or part of the week due to lay-offs increased to 212 000. The corresponding figure for persons who stated lack of work as the main reason for their absence was 137 000, an increase of 110 000 persons.

Seasonally adjusted and smoothed data shows that there were 4 033 000 persons in work, which is 330 000 fewer than in February 2020. There were 1 015 000 persons absent for the whole week, which is 222 000 more than in February.

Unemployment

In April 2020, there were 449 000 unemployed persons aged 15─74, an increase of 80 000 compared with the same month a year ago. This corresponds to an unemployment rate of 8.2 percent, an increase of 1.4 percentage points. There were 197 000 unemployed women, and the number of unemployed men increased by 65 000 to 252 000. Among women, the unemployment rate was 7.8 percent, and among men it was 8.7 percent, an increase of 2.2 percentage points.

Among young persons aged 15─24, there were 161 000 unemployed persons. This corresponds to an unemployment rate of 27.7 percent, an increase of 5.3 percentage points compared with the same month a year ago. Among unemployed young people, 110 000 persons were full-time students.

Among persons aged 15–74, smoothed and seasonally adjusted data shows an increase of 40 000 in the number of unemployed persons and an increase of 0.8 percentage points in the unemployment rate compared with February 2020. There were 432 000 unemployed persons in April 2020, which corresponds to an unemployment rate of 7.9 percent.

Among young persons aged 15─24, smoothed and seasonally adjusted data shows an increase in both the number of unemployed persons and in the unemployment rate compared with February 2020. There were 147 000 unemployed young persons, which corresponds to an unemployment rate of 24.4 percent.

2020-06-17 at 9:30.