- The number of temporary employees increases in July, mainly among young people. Furthermore, we see that employment as well as the number of employees increases according to seasonally adjusted and smoothed data, says Åsa Zakrisson, statistician at the Labour Force Surveys at SCB.

Labour force

In July 2026, there were 5 974 000 people aged 15–74 in the labour force, not seasonally adjusted, among which 2 877 000 were women and 3 098 000 were men. The labour force participation rate was 78.1 percent. Among women, the labour force participation rate was 76.3 percent and among men, it was 79.9 percent.

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 5 807 000 people in the labour force, corresponding to a labour force participation rate of 75.9 percent.

Employment

The number of employed people aged 15-74 amounted to 5 507 000 in July 2026, not seasonally adjusted. There were 2 639 000 employed women and 2 868 000 employed men. The employment rate stood at 72.0 percent. The employment rate among women was 70.0 percent and among men it was 73.9 percent.

According to seasonally adjusted and smoothed data, 5 304 000 people aged 15–74 were employed and the employment rate was 69.3 percent, representing an increase in both the number and the share of employed people, compared to recent months.

Employees

In July 2026, there were 5 015 000 employees, according to non-seasonally adjusted data. 2 487 000 employees were women and 2 528 000 were men. The number of permanent employees amounted to 4 117 000. 2 014 000 women and 2 103 000 men were permanent employees. The number of temporary employees amounted to 898 000, an increase of 92 000 people compared to the corresponding month in the previous year. 473 000 women were temporary employees. Among men, the number of temporary employees was 425 000, up 69 000.

The number of employees increased compared to recent months and amounted to 4 813 000 according to seasonally adjusted and smoothed data. Of these, 4 117 000 were permanent employees and 695 000 were temporary employees. Compared to recent months, the number of temporary employees increased.

Hours worked

Total hours worked in July 2026 averaged 104.4 million per week, according to non-seasonally adjusted data.

According to seasonally adjusted and smoothed data, the number of hours worked averaged 156.1 million per week.

Unemployment

In July 2026, 468 000 people aged 15–74 were unemployed, not seasonally adjusted. This corresponds to an unemployment rate of 7.8 percent. 238 000 women and 230 000 men were unemployed. The unemployment rate stood at 8.3 percent for women and 7.4 percent for men. The number of people in long-term unemployment (unemployed for at least 27 weeks) amounted to 144 000. 65 000 women and 80 000 men were in long-term unemployment. The number of unemployed young people aged 15–24 amounted to 138 000 and the youth unemployment rate stood at 16.1 percent.

According to seasonally adjusted and smoothed data, there were 503 000 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. This corresponds to an unemployment rate of 24.4 percent.

Unused labour supply

Collectively, unemployed people, underemployed people and latent jobseekers constitute the unused labour supply. In July 2026, the unused labour supply averaged 27.1 million hours per week. The unused labour supply corresponds to 678 000 full-time jobs with 40-hour working weeks.