- In August, we see positive signs in the labour market. Both employment and labour force participation are increasing. The increase in the number of employed people is mainly driven by women, says Felicia Holm, statistician at the Labour Force Surveys at SCB.

Labour force

In August 2026, there were 5 928 000 people aged 15–74 in the labour force, not seasonally adjusted, an increase of 122 000 people compared to the corresponding month in the previous year. There were 2 828 000 women in the labour force, up 64 000. The number of men amounted to 3 100 000, up 58 000. The labour force participation rate was 77.5 percent, an increase of 1.4 percentage points. Among women, the labour force participation rate was 75.0 percent. Among men, it was 80.0 percent, up 1.4 percentage points.

Seasonally adjusted and smoothed data show an increase in both the number and the share of people in the labour force, compared to recent months. There were 5 829 000 people in the labour force, corresponding to a labour force participation rate of 76.2 percent.

Employment

The number of employed people aged 15-74 increased by 103 000 compared to the same month last year and amounted to 5 423 000 in August 2026, not seasonally adjusted. There were 2 577 000 employed women, up 61 000. The number of employed men was 2 845 000. The employment rate stood at 70.9 percent, an increase of 1.2 percentage points. The employment rate among women was 68.4 percent and among men it was 73.4 percent.

According to seasonally adjusted and smoothed data, 5 321 000 people aged 15–74 were employed and the employment rate was 69.6 percent, representing an increase in both the number and the share of employed people, compared to recent months.

Employees

In August 2026, there were 4 944 000 employees, according to non-seasonally adjusted data, an increase of 138 000 people compared to the corresponding month in the previous year. 2 447 000 employees were women, up 74 000. 2 497 000 employees were men, up 65 000. The number of permanent employees increased by 89 000 compared to the same month last year and amounted to 4 207 000. 2 056 000 women were permanent employees, up 64 000. 2 151 000 men were permanent employees. The number of temporary employees amounted to 737 000, among which 391 000 were women and 346 000 were men.

The number of employees increased compared to recent months and amounted to 4 834 000 according to seasonally adjusted and smoothed data. Of these, 4 142 000 were permanent employees and 692 000 were temporary employees. Compared to recent months, both the number of permanent employees and temporary employees increased.

Hours worked

Total hours worked in August 2026 averaged 128.7 million per week, according to non-seasonally adjusted data.

Seasonally adjusted and smoothed data show an increase in the number of hours worked compared to recent months. The number of hours worked averaged 156.4 million per week.

Unemployment

In August 2026, 505 000 people aged 15–74 were unemployed, not seasonally adjusted. This corresponds to an unemployment rate of 8.5 percent. 251 000 women and 255 000 men were unemployed. The unemployment rate stood at 8.9 percent for women and 8.2 percent for men. The number of people in long-term unemployment (unemployed for at least 27 weeks) amounted to 168 000, a decrease of 36 000 people compared to the corresponding month in the previous year. 73 000 women were in long-term unemployment, down 29 000. 95 000 men were in long-term unemployment. The number of unemployed young people aged 15–24 amounted to 144 000, corresponding to an unemployment rate of 18.4 percent.

According to seasonally adjusted and smoothed data, there were 509 000 unemployed people aged 15–74, corresponding to an unemployment rate of 8.7 percent. Among young people aged 15–24 the number of unemployed amounted to 174 000. The unemployment rate among young people amounted to 23.8 percent, which is a decrease compared to recent months.

Unused labour supply

Collectively, unemployed people, underemployed people and latent jobseekers constitute the unused labour supply. In August 2026, the unused labour supply averaged 27.0 million hours per week. The unused labour supply corresponds to 675 000 full-time jobs with 40-hour working weeks.