Employments February 2026
Number of employments increased compared to February previous year
Statistical news from Statistics Sweden 2026-04-29 8.00
The number of ongoing employments increased by 0.8 percent compared to February previous year. During the same period, hours worked decreased by 1.2 percent, amounting to 630 million hours. The proportion of sickness absence was 2.6 percent. The total gross pay was 201 000 million SEK.
Ongoing employments
The number of ongoing employments increased in February 2026 by 0.8 percent compared to the same period previous year, amounting to 5 323 000.
The number of employments lasting more than six month was 4 233 000 and the number of employments lasting six month or less was 1 090 000.
Percentage change compared to the same month in the previous year
Hours worked
The total number of hours worked was amounted to 630 million, which was a decrease of 1.2 percent compared to the same period the previous year.
Gross pay
The total gross pay amounted to 201 000 million SEK, which was an increase of 4.1 percent compared to the same period the previous year.
Proportion of sickness absence
The total proportion of sickness absence for February 2026 was 2.6 percent. For women, it was 3.0 percent, while for men it was 2.2 percent.
Ongoing employments, length of employment and flow in employments
| February 2026 | Change compared to the same period the previous year | Proportion of ongoing employments | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Number | (%) | (%) | |
| Ongoing employments | 5 323 000 | 43 000 | 0.8 | 100.0 |
| Women | 2 613 000 | 24 000 | 0.9 | 49.1 |
| Men | 2 710 000 | 19 000 | 0.7 | 50.9 |
| Length of employments > 6 months | 4 233 000 | 41 000 | 1.0 | 79.5 |
| Women | 2 054 000 | 22 000 | 1.1 | 38.6 |
| Men | 2 178 000 | 18 000 | 0.8 | 40.9 |
| Length of employments <= 6 months | 1 090 000 | 3 000 | 0.3 | 20.5 |
| Women | 559 000 | 2 000 | 0.3 | 10.5 |
| Men | 531 000 | 1 000 | 0.2 | 10.0 |
| Started employments | 161 000 | 0 | -0.1 | 3.0 |
| Women | 79 000 | 1 000 | -0.5 | 1.5 |
| Men | 83 000 | 0 | 0.4 | 1.6 |
| Terminated employments | 244 000 | -4 000 | -1.4 | .. |
| Women | 119 000 | -2 000 | -1.7 | .. |
| Men | 125 000 | -1 000 | -1.2 | .. |
Proportion of sickness absence
| February 2026 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Proportion (%) | Change compared to the same period the previous year, percentage points | |
| Total | 2.6 | 0.0 |
| Women | 3.0 | 0.0 |
| Men | 2.2 | 0.0 |
| Business sector | 2.3 | 0.0 |
| Central government | 2.0 | -0.1 |
| Regions | 3.3 | 0.0 |
| Municipalities | 3.8 | -0.1 |
Definitions and explanations
Employments (ANST) consists of two parts. One part is register-based and is based on employer declarations at the individual level (PAYE) collected by the Swedish Tax Agency. The second part consists of the Sickness Absence during the Sick Pay Period (SuS), a sample survey where Statistics Sweden collects the data from employers.
The purpose of the register-based part is to depict the state of the labour market and its development over time. The statistics are used, among other things, for economic forecasts and are part of the European Union's labour market statistics.
The variable worked time is not entirely register-based; instead, it is derived from a model.
The purpose of SuS is to highlight sickness absence during the sick pay period, which is the first 14 days of sickness absence funded by the employer. The statistics are used for forecasts, analyses, and decision-making.
Comments
In Statistical Database all flows in employments are reported: new employments, resumed employments, interrupted employments and re-interrupted employment. Absolute changes compared with the same period of the previous year below 1,000 are reported as 0.