In December 2019, there were 5 115 000 employed persons. The unemployment rate was 6.0 percent. The average number of hours worked per week amounted to 145.7 million. Smoothed and seasonally adjusted data indicates an increase in the employment rate, and a minor change in the unemployment rate, which was 6.9 percent.
Approximately 26 000 rental dwellings were unlet as of 1 September 2019. There were 8 900 dwellings available for immediate rent. This is 0.6 percent of all rental dwellings in Sweden.
Swedish holdings in foreign portfolio assets increased in the first half of 2019. Total holdings amounted to SEK 5 903.7 billion at the end of June 2019, which was an increase of 14.8 percent compared with the end of 2018. This is the largest percentage increase over a six-month period since six-month measurements were launched in June 2015.
Total Swedish liabilities in debt securities amounted to SEK 7 671 billion at the end of December, a decrease of SEK 156 billion on November. The main contributor to this change is a decrease in borrowing in money market instruments.
The inflation rate according to the CPI with a fixed interest rate (CPIF) was 1.7 percent in December 2019, unchanged from November to December. The CPIF increased by 0.4 percent from November to December. In the corresponding period a year ago, the CPIF also increased by 0.4 percent. The inflation rate according to the CPI was 1.8 percent in December 2019.