Since 1 January, the Swedish LFS is in compliance with the new EU framework regulation on social statistics (Regulation (EU) 2019/1700 of the European Parliament and of the Council). This framework regulation has involved changes in the definition of employment, the sampling procedure, and the structure of the questionnaire. These changes have caused breaks in the time series and therefore, this item of statistical news does not include any comparisons with previous years. Comparisons with previous months in 2021 are possible for seasonally adjusted and smoothed data. However, comparisons with previous years are not advised. Throughout 2021, parallel measurements will be used to make it possible to link data backwards in time and make the series comparable with previous years.

The number of employed persons has been affected, partly due to the change in the definition; people who are completely absent from work for three months or more for certain reasons are no longer classified as being employed. Furthermore, new and updated information is used in the weighting procedures, which improves the precision in the estimates, although it also affects the levels of the number of employed persons. The change in the definition and the new weighting procedure led to a total estimated number of employed persons in May that is 124 000 fewer than according to the previous method.

Besides the number of employed persons, other estimates may also have been affected by a change in definition, target population, and survey design. The new auxillary information may also have affected the other estimates.

More information on the alignment to the framework regulation is available on the LFS product page at “Information on the introduction of the new 2021 framework regulation in the LFS” (scb.se).

The labour force

In May 2021, there were 5 598 000 people aged 15–74 years in the labour force, not seasonally adjusted. There were 2 951 000 men and 2 647 000 women in the labour force. The relative labour force participation rate was 74.5 percent. This rate was 77.2 percent for men and 71.6 percent for women.

According to seasonally adjusted and smoothed data, there were 5 550 000 people in the labour force and the labour force participation rate was 73.9 percent. Compared with previous months in 2021, seasonally adjusted and smoothed data showed an increase in the number of people in the labour force as well as the labour force participation rate.

Employment

In May 2021, there were 5 052 000 employed people aged 15–74 years, not seasonally adjusted. There were 2 383 000 employed women and 2 668 000 employed men. The employment rate was 67.2 percent. This rate was 64.5 percent for women and 69.8 percent for men.

According to seasonally adjusted and smoothed data, there were 5 044 000 employed persons and the employment rate was 67.1 percent. Compared with previous months in 2021, seasonally adjusted and smoothed data showed an increase in the number of employed persons as well as the employment rate.

Employees

In May 2021, there were 4 553 000 employees according to non-seasonally adjusted data. Among employees, there were 2 255 000 women and 2 299 000 men. There were 3 867 000 permanent employees and 686 000 temporary employees.

According to seasonally adjusted and smoothed data, there were 4 559 000 employees. There were 3 847 000 permanent employees and 712 000 temporary employees. Compared with previous months in 2021, seasonally adjusted and smoothed data showed an increase in the number of employees.

Hours worked

In May 2021, the average number of hours worked was 158.7 million per week, not seasonally adjusted.

Seasonally adjusted and smoothed data showed that the total average number of hours worked per week was 150.7 million, an increase compared with previous months in 2021.

At work and absence

There were 4 640 000 people employed and at work in May 2021, not seasonally adjusted.

The LFS estimates the number of people who were absent from their principal occupation for the whole week or for part of the week by main reason for absence. In May 2021, this figure was 1 693 000, not seasonally adjusted. There were 420 000 people absent for the whole week in May 2021. Among these, 151 000 were absent due to illness, while 52 000 people were absent due to holidays.

People who are absent due to lay-offs are often absent for only part of the week. There were 19 000 people in total absent for the whole week or part of the week due to lay-offs.

Seasonally adjusted and smoothed data showed that there were 4 286 000 people at work. Compared with previous months in 2021, seasonally adjusted and smoothed data showed an increase in the number of people at work.

Unemployment

In May 2021, there were 546 000 unemployed persons aged 15–74 years, which corresponds to an unemployment rate of 9.8 percent, not seasonally adjusted. There were 283 000 unemployed men and 264 000 unemployed women, which corresponds to an unemployment rate of 9.6 percent for men and 10.0 percent for women. Among those who were unemployed, 170 000 had been unemployed for more than six months.

In May, there were 506 000 unemployed persons according to seasonally adjusted and smoothed data, which corresponds to an unemployment rate of 9.1 percent. Compared with previous months in 2021, seasonally adjusted and smoothed data showed an increase in the number and the proportion of unemployed people.

Additional questions on the impact of COVID-19 on the labour market

In view of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, questions about the impact of COVID-19 have been added to the LFS. The answers to these questions show that 78 000 employed people aged 15–74 years were absent during the whole reference week in May related to COVID-19. This means that among people who were absent during the entire reference week, 18.8 percent were absent due to COVID-19. This proportion was 17.6 percent for men and 19.6 percent for women.

Among employees aged 15–74 years who were absent during the entire reference week, 18.2 percent, which corresponds to 70 000 people, stated that their absence was related to COVID-19. Furthermore, 10.7 percent of employees who were absent during part of the week, 125 000 people, stated that their absence was related to COVID-19. Among self-employed persons and assisting family members aged 15–74 years, 36.2 percent felt that they had less work due to the COVID-19 pandemic, while 17.1 percent felt that they had more work.

To be classified as unemployed in the LFS, a person must be without a job, must be able to start work and must have sought work. This means that people who are without a job, but who have not been seeking work or are unable to start work are not classified as unemployed, but are classified, instead, as not in the labour force. In May 2021, there were 1 920 000 people aged 15–74 years not in the labour force. Among these, 48 000 people stated that they would have been able to work, but had not sought work due to COVID-19.

2021-07-29, 09:30.