- The labour market in 2025 showed a two-tier picture. We see that unemployment increased to 8.8 percent, but at the same time the employment rate remained at 69.0 percent. Compared with the past 25 years, this is a high level for both unemployment and employment, says Ludvig Renberg, statistician at the Labour Force Surveys at Statistics Sweden.

Labour force participation increased

The number of people in the labour force increased by 52 000 compared to 2024 and amounted to 5 773 000 people. A total of 3 021 000 men participated, an increase of 30 000, and 2 752 000 women in the labour force. The labour force participation rate was 75.7 percent, an increase of 0.4 percentage points. The labour force participation rate for men was 78.0 percent and for women 73.3 percent.

The number of foreign born persons in the labour force was 1 518 000 in 2025, an increase of 36 000, and the number of Swedish born persons was 4 256 000. The labour force participation rate was 79.2 percent for foreign born persons, 83.3 percent among men and 75.1 percent among women. For Swedish born persons, the labour force participation rate was 74.5 percent, among men it was 76.3 percent and among women 72.6 percent.

Employment rate remained at an elevated level

In 2025, 5 263 000 people aged 15–74 years were employed. Of these, 2 753 000 were men and 2 510 000 were women. The employment rate was 69.0 percent. The employment rate among men was 71.1 percent and among women 66.8 percent. In the period 2001-2025, the employment rate reached its highest level in 2023. In 2025, the employment rate remained at an elevated level.

Of the foreign born persons, the number of employed persons was 1 269 000, an increase of 28 000. The number of employed Swedish born persons was 3 994 000. Among foreign born persons, the employment rate was 66.3 percent. For foreign-born men, it was 70.2 percent and 62.3 percent for women. Among Swedish born persons, the employment rate was 69.9 percent, 71.4 percent among men and 68.4 percent among women.

People who want and can work more than they usually do are called underemployed. In 2025, 376 000 people were underemployed, an increase of 25 000 compared to 2024. The number of underemployed men increased by 19 000 and amounted to 206 000. Among women, the number of underemployed persons was 171 000. Underemployed persons accounted for 7.2 percent of employed persons. Among employed men, 7.5 percent were underemployed and for women the share was 6.8 percent.

Permanently employed young people increased

In 2025 there were 4 766 000 employees aged 15–74 years, which corresponds to 90.6 percent of employed people. The number of employed men was 2 403 000 and 2 362 000 were women. The number of permanent employees amounted to 4 130 000 in 2025. Of the permanent employees, 2 118 000 were men and 2 012 000 were women. The number of temporary employees was 636 000, of which 286 000 were men and 350 000 women. Among young people aged 15 to 24, the number of permanent employees was 267 000, which was an increase of 20 000 persons.

Hours worked and agreed working hours

In 2025, the average number of total hours worked per week amounted to 156.1 million hours. For men, the average number of total hours worked amounted to 86.7 million per week and among women the number was 69.4 million per week.

On average, the agreed working hours in a full-time job for both sexes were 37.3 hours per week. For men, it averaged 38.2 hours per week and 36.2 hours for women.

Number of unemployed increased for the third year in a row

The number of unemployed persons aged 15 to 74 years increased by 30 000 to 510 000 persons. This means that unemployment has increased for three years in a row. The number of unemployed men increased by 21 000 to 268 000 and the number of women was 242 000. The unemployment rate was 8.8 percent, an increase of 0.4 percentage points compared with the previous year. The unemployment rate among men increased by 0.6 percentage points and was 8.9 percent. The share of unemployed women was 8.8 percent. Unemployment remained at a higher level in 2025, comparable to the pandemic year of 2021 when it was at its highest.

The number of unemployed Swedish born persons increased by 23 000 to 262 000 persons. Among unemployed foreign born persons, the number was 248 000. The unemployment rate among Swedish born persons increased by 0.5 percentage points to 6.2 percent. Among Swedish born men, the unemployment rate increased by 0.7 percentage points to 6.4 percent and for women the share was 5.9 percent. The share of unemployed foreign born persons was 16.4 percent. For foreign-born men, the unemployment rate was 15.7 percent, and among foreign-born women, the rate was 17.1 percent.

There were 170 000 unemployed young people aged 15 to 24, of whom 102 000 were full-time students. The share of young unemployed was 24.3 percent. The unemployment rate for unemployed young men was 24.7 percent and for young women 23.9 percent.

The number of long-term unemployed, those who have been unemployed for 27 weeks or more, aged 15–74 years amounted to 171 000 in 2025, corresponding to 36 percent of the unemployed. This is an increase of 19 000 people compared to 2024. The number of long-term unemployed men increased by 13 000 to 93 000 and the number of women was 78 000.

Regional distribution

Among Sweden’s three largest counties – Stockholm, Västra Götaland and Skåne county – the employment rate was highest in Stockholm, for both men and women. The employment rate in Stockholm County was 73.1 percent for men and 71.2 percent for women. In Västra Götaland County, the employment rate for men was 71.6 percent and among women the share was 67.2 percent. In Skåne County, the corresponding share was 69.1 percent for men and 64.4 percent for women.

The unemployment rate in Stockholm County among men was 9.3 percent, an increase of 1.2 percentage points, and among women it was 8.8 percent. In Västra Götaland County, the unemployment rate among men was 8.7 percent and among women the corresponding share was 8.6 percent. In Skåne County, the corresponding share was 10.3 percent for men and 10.2 percent for women.