The figures in this statistical news release are based on collected data that contains quality deficiencies. Revised LFS figures have been published and are available here:

Labour Force Surveys

Quality flaws have been identified in the Labour Force Survey for September and for some time previously. As a result, unemployment for September is overestimated and employment is slightly underestimated. This means that the outcome should be interpreted with caution, in particular with regard to changes within one year.

The quality flaws also affect estimations back in time. For further information, see the end of this statistical news and a separate press release on scb.se.

In September 2019, there were 5 110 000 employed persons aged 15─74, not seasonally adjusted. The number of employed men was 2 684 000. The number of employed women was 2 426 000. The employment rate was 68.0 percent. Among men, the employment rate was 70.2 percent and among women, the employment rate was 65.7 percent.

Smoothed and seasonally adjusted data indicates a decrease in both the number of employed persons and the employment rate, compared with recent months. In September 2019, there were 5 101 000 employed persons, which corresponds to an employment rate of 67.8 percent.

There were 4 635 000 employees aged 15─74 in September 2019, not seasonally adjusted. Among men, the number of employees was 2 340 000. Among women the number was 2 295 000. The number of permanent employees increased by 94 000 persons compared with the same period last year, and amounted to 3 962 000. Among men, the number of permanent employees was 2 041 000, an increase of 61 000 persons. Among women there were 1 921 000 permanent employees.

There were 673 000 temporary employees, which is a decrease of 75 000 persons compared with September last year. Among men, there were 300 000 temporary employees, a decrease of 48 000 compared with September 2018. Among women the number of temporary employees was 374 000. Compared with nearby months, smoothed and seasonally adjusted data shows an increase in the number of permanent employees and a decrease in the number of temporary employees.

On average, the number of hours worked in September 2019 amounted to 174.1 million per week, not seasonally adjusted. Smoothed and seasonally adjusted data showed a minor change in the number of hours worked per week compared with recent months. On average, the number of hours worked amounted to 156.5 million per week in September 2019.

In September 2019, there were 391 000 unemployed persons aged 15─74, not seasonally adjusted, an increase of 62 000 compared with September 2018. The number of unemployed men increased by 47 000 to 209 000. There were 182 000 unemployed women. The unemployment rate was 7.1 percent, an increase of 1.1 percentage points compared with September 2018. The unemployment rate was 7.0 percent among women. Among men the unemployment rate increased by 1.5 percentage points to 7.2 percent.

Among young persons aged 15─24 there were 107 000 unemployed persons. The unemployment rate among young people was 18.4 percent, an increase of 3.5 percentage points compared with September 2018. Among unemployed young people, 49 000 persons were full-time students.

Among persons aged 15–74, smoothed and seasonally adjusted data shows an increase in both the number of unemployed persons and in the unemployment rate, compared with nearby months. There were 404 000 unemployed persons in September 2019, which corresponds to an unemployment rate of 7.3 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. There were 120 000 unemployed young persons, which corresponds to an unemployment rate of 20.0 percent.

Additional information concerning recent Labour Force Survey publications

Statistics Sweden has identified quality flaws in parts of the data collection for the Labour Force Survey that have resulted in the following effects:

Concerning estimations for the second half of 2018

• The number of employed persons has been slightly overestimated
• This overestimation of employed persons is mainly due to an overestimation of temporary employees
• The estimations of permanent employees appear to be relatively unaffected
• The number of unemployed persons appears to be relatively unaffected
• The total number of hours worked appears to be relatively unaffected

Concerning estimations for 2019

• In the first six months of 2019, overestimation of the number of employed persons has gradually diminished and has then been underestimated slightly in recent months
• In the first six months of the year, overestimation of temporary employees has also gradually diminished
• The estimations of permanent employees appear to be relatively unaffected
• The number of unemployed persons has been slightly underestimated in the first months of the year, and then in recent months, the number has been overestimated
• The total number of hours worked appears to be relatively unaffected

Change within one year

• In the first six months of 2019, the Labour Force Survey results have indicated an excessively strong increase in employment and an excessively weak increase of unemployed persons (due to 2019 level estimations).
• In July and August, the results have indicated, instead, an excessively strong decrease in employment and an excessively strong increase of unemployed persons (due to the combination of problems with 2019 and 2018 level estimations).

Seasonally adjusted and smoothed data

As a result, seasonally adjusted and smoothed series have reported an excessively strong employment trend in 2018 and up to June 2019. In July and August 2019, the effect has instead led to an excessively weak employment trend. The effect on unemployment has been that the reported increase in unemployment rather should have begun in spring 2019, although at a lower rate of increase than has been reported in recent months. In other words, the rate of increase in recent months appears to be overestimated.

2019-11-14 at 9:30.