– Long-term unemployment continues to decrease in February 2023, in line with previous development. We also see an increase in the number of employed and hours worked. The labour market is still not showing any clear signs of a slowdown, says Charlotte Breitz, statistician at the Labor Force Surveys at Statistics Sweden.

Labour force

In February 2023, the number of people in the labour force aged 15–74 was 5 628 000, not seasonally adjusted, which is an increase of 92 000 compared to February 2022. The number of women in the labour force was 2 689 000, an increase with 103 000, and the number of was 2 939 000. The relative labour force participation rate amounted to 74.2 percent. Among women it was 72.2 percent, an increase with 2.2 percent, and for men it was 76.2 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 5 660 000, corresponding to a labour force participation rate of 74.8 percent.

Employment

In February 2023, there were 5 169 000 employed people aged 15–74, not seasonally adjusted. This is an increase of 67 000 persons compared to February 2022. The number of employed women increased with 79 000 to 2 470 000 and the number of employed men was 2 699 000. The employment rate amounted to 68.2 percent. Among women the employment rate was 66.4 percent, an increase with 1.7 percentage points, and among men it was 69.9 percent.

For seasonally adjusted and smoothed data, the number of employed people amounted to 5 243 000 and the employment rate was 69.3. This is an increase in both the number and the share of employed persons compared with recent months.

Employees

In February 2023, there were 4 692 000 employees, not seasonally adjusted, which is an increase of 137 000 compared to February 2022. The number of employed women increased with 91 000 to 2 343 000 and the number of men was 2 349 000. There were 4 002 000 permanent employees, an increase of 99 000. Among permanent employees the number of women was 1 952 000, and the number of men was 2 050 000. The number of temporary employees amounted to 690 000, of which 391 000 were women and 299 000 were men.

For seasonally adjusted and smoothed data, the number of employees was 4 734 000. The corresponding figure for permanent employees was 4 003 000 and for temporary employees 731 000. Compared with nearby months, seasonally adjusted and smoothed data shows an increase in the number of employees and permanent employees.

Hours worked

The average number of hours worked in February 2023 amounted to 172.8 million per week, not seasonally adjusted. In calendar adjusted figures, this corresponds to an increase of 5.9 percent compared with February 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 160.0 million per week.

Unemployment

In February 2023, there were 459 000 unemployed people aged 15–74 years, not seasonally adjusted. The corresponding unemployment rate amounted to 8.2 percent. The number of unemployed women was 219 000 and the number of unemployed men was 240 000. The unemployment rate for women was 8.1 percent and the unemployment rate for men was 8.2 percent. The number of long-term unemployed (unemployed for at least 27 weeks) decreased by 32 000 to 128 000. Among the long-term unemployed, 53 000 were women and 75 000 were men. There were 170 000 unemployed young people aged 15–24, corresponding to an unemployment rate of 26.4 percent. Among unemployed young people, 118 000 persons were full-time students.

For seasonally adjusted and smoothed data there were 417 000 unemployed people, which corresponds to an unemployment rate of 7.4 percent, among people aged 15-74 years. Compared with nearby months, seasonally adjusted and smoothed data shows an increase in the number of unemployed people. Among young people aged 15–24 the number of unemployed amounted to 150 000, corresponding to an unemployment rate of 22.2 percent. Compared with nearby months, seasonally adjusted and smoothed data shows an increase in both the number of unemployed and the unemployment rate among young people.

Unused labour supply

Unemployed people, underemployed people and latent job seekers together comprise the unused labour supply. In February 2023, the unused labour supply averaged 20.7 million hours per week. The unused labour supply corresponds to 518 000 full-time employments with 40-hour work weeks.

2023-03-28, 08:00.