- Unemployment increases in September, for the second month in a row. It is mainly among women that the unemployment rises, says Elin Ottosson Bixo, statistician at the Labour Force Surveys at Statistics Sweden.

When publishing the LFS for September, microlinked data for the period 2005-2020 will be available in the Swedish Statistical Database (SSD) to bridge the time series gap that occurred when the LFS were adapted to the new EU framework 2021. A republication of data from 2021 and onwards has been carried out due to certain adjustments made in data, furthermore a new total population figure has been generated for the entire period. Read more: Labour Force Surveys (LFS)

Labour force

In September 2023, the number of people in the labour force aged 15–74 amounted to 5 691 000, not seasonally adjusted. This is an increase with 133 000 people compared with corresponding month previous year. The number of women in the labour force was 2 693 000, an increase of 86 000 people. The number of men amounted to 2 997 000. The relative labour force participation rate was 74.9 percent, which is an increase with 1.4 percentage points. The labour force participation rate for women was 72.2 percent, an increase with 2.0 percentage points, while the labour force participation rate for men amounted to 77.6 percent.

Seasonally adjusted and smoothed data shows an increase in both the number and the share of persons in the labour force compared with recent months. The number of people in the labour force amounted to 5 735 000, corresponding to a labour force participation rate of 75.5 percent.

The change in the labour force between September 2022 and 2023 may to some extent be overestimated. In September 2022, the labour force for women was at a relatively low level.

Employment

In September 2023, there were 5 254 000 employed people aged 15–74, not seasonally adjusted. The number of employed women and men was 2 461 000 and 2 793 000 respectively. The employment rate amounted to 69.2 percent. For women, the employment rate amounted to 65.9 percent and for men it was 72.3 percent.

For seasonally adjusted and smoothed data, the number of employed people aged 15–74 amounted to 5 287 000. This corresponds to an employment rate of 69.6 percent.

Employees

In September 2023, there were 4 701 000 employees, according to not seasonally adjusted data. The number of employees among women was 2 312 000 and the number of employees among men was 2 389 000. The number of permanent employees amounted to 4 021 000, where the number of women amounted to 1 943 000 and men to 2 078 000. The number of temporary employees was 680 000. The number of temporary employees among women was 369 000 and among men 311 000.

For seasonally adjusted and smoothed data, the number of employees amounted to 4 765 000, of which 4 074 000 was permanent employees and 691 000 was temporary employees. Compared with recent months, seasonally adjusted and smoothed data shows an increase in the number of permanent employees, while the number of temporary employees decreased.

Hours worked

The average number of total hours worked in September 2023 amounted to 176.4 million per week, according to not seasonally adjusted.

The average number of hours worked according to seasonally adjusted and smoothed data was 156.1 million per week.

Unemployment

In September 2023, the number of unemployed people aged 15–74 years amounted to 437 000, not seasonally adjusted. This is an increase with 75 000 persons compared to the corresponding month previous year. The unemployment rate was 7.7 percent, an increase of 1.2 percentage points. The number of unemployed women amounted to 233 000, an increase of 50 000 persons. The number of unemployed men was 204 000. The unemployment rate amounted to 8.6 percent for women, an increase with 1.6 percentage points. The unemployment rate for men was 6.8 percent. The number of long-term unemployed, unemployed for at least 27 weeks, amounted to 133 000 persons. Of the number of long-term unemployed, 67 000 were women and 66 000 were men. The number of unemployed young people aged 15–24 amounted to 147 000. The youth unemployment rate was 22.9 percent. Among unemployed young people, 86 000 persons were full-time students.

In correspondence with previous months, the number of unemployed among people aged 15-74 increased and amounted to 448 000, according to seasonally adjusted and smoothed data. The unemployment rate also increased and amounted to 7.8 percent. Among young people aged 15–24 the number of unemployed amounted to 152 000 and the unemployment rate was 21.9 percent. Compared with recent months, seasonally adjusted and smoothed data shows an increase in the number of unemployment and the unemployment rate among youth unemployment.

Unused labour supply

Unemployed people, underemployed people and latent job seekers together constitute the unused labour supply. In September 2023, the unused labour supply amounted on averaged 22.9 million hours per week. This is an increase with 3,4 million hours compared with corresponding month previous year. The unused labour supply corresponds to 573 000 full-time employments with 40-hour work weeks.

2023-11-17, 08:00.