The figures in this statistical news release are based on collected data that contains quality deficiencies. Revised LFS figures have been published and are available here:

Labour Force Surveys

Employment rate increased among Swedish born persons

In 2018, the population aged 15–74 years increased by 58 000 persons and amounted to an average of 7 461 000 persons. There were 5 457 000 persons in the labour force, 77 000 more than in 2017. This corresponds to an activity rate of 73.1 percent for the population, an increase of 0.4 percentage points.

On average, 5 113 000 persons were in employment in 2018. The number of employed persons increased by 91 000 in 2018. Compared with 2017, the number of employed men increased by 51 000 and was 2 680 000. The number of employed women increased by 40 000 to 2 433 000. Among Swedish born persons, 4 102 000 were employed, which is an increase of 45 000. The number of employed foreign born persons was 1 010 000, an increase of 46 000.

The employment rate increased by 0.7 percentage points to 68.5 percent in 2018. Among men, the employment rate increased by 0.8 percentage points to 70.7 percent, and among women it increased by 0.6 percentage points to 66.3 percent. Among Swedish born persons, the employment rate increased by 0.9 percentage points to 70.4 percent, while among foreign born persons the employment rate was 61.8 percent.

The number of employed persons continued to increase in Stockholm County, where it increased by 31 000 to 1 259 000 persons. In Skåne County, the number of employed persons increased by 13 000 to 653 000 persons and in Dalarna County the number increased by 6 000 to 139 000.

The number of employed persons in the ‘Information and communication’ economic activity increased in 2018. The number of employed persons in this activity rose by 17 000 to 240 000. In ‘Construction’ the number of employees continued to increase, to 350 000, an increase of 11 000 persons. In ‘Public administration’, the number of employees increased by 23 000 to 363 000.

Among employed persons aged 15–74, 216 000 were underemployed, 103 000 of whom were men and 113 000 were women. This is a decrease of 19 000 persons compared with last year.

Number of permanent employees increased by 97 000

There were 3 860 000 permanent employees in 2018, which was an increase of 97 000 persons compared with 2017. The number of permanently employed men increased by 54 000 to 1 980 000, and the number of permanently employed women increased by 43 000 to 1 880 000. The number of temporary employees amounted to 762 000, 345 000 of whom were men and 417 000 were women.

In 2018, 66.6 percent of employed persons were employed in the private sector. This amounted to 3 076 000 persons, an increase of 59 000 compared with 2017. The proportion of employed persons in the public sector was 25.9 percent, or 1 196 000 persons, which is an increase of 24 000 persons. There were 305 000 persons employed in the government sector in 2018, which corresponds to 6.6 percent of all persons employed.

Number of hours worked increased to 156.2 million

The total number of hours worked per week on average amounted to 156.2 million in 2018, which was an increase of 3.1 million hours per week, or 2.0 percent, compared with 2017. Among those hours, 1.3 million hours were attributable to persons working abroad.

Unemployment rate decreased among Swedish born persons

The number of unemployed persons aged 15–74 was, on average, 344 000 in 2018, which is a decrease of 14 000 compared with 2017. Among these unemployed persons, 182 000 were men, a decrease of 13 000. The number of unemployed women amounted to 162 000. Among Swedish born persons, there were 160 000 unemployed persons, a decrease of 26 000. The number of unemployed foreign born persons was 184 000, an increase of 12 000.

In 2018, on average, 6.3 percent of those in the labour force aged 15–74 were unemployed, which is a decrease of 0.4 percentage points compared with 2017. The unemployment rate among men decreased by 0.5 percentage points to 6.4 percent, and among women the unemployment rate was 6.3 percent. Among Swedish born people, the unemployment rate was 3.8 percent, which is a decrease of 0.6 percentage points. The unemployment rate among foreign born persons was 15.4 percent.

The number of unemployed young persons aged 15–24 decreased for the fourth consecutive year. In 2018, the number of unemployed young people decreased by 8 000 and was 104 000, 54 000 of whom were full-time students. The unemployment rate in this age group decreased by 1.0 percentage points to 16.8 percent.

The number of long-term unemployed persons aged 15–74 was 95 000. There were 10 000 long-term unemployed persons aged 15–24.

In Stockholm, Södermanland, Västernorrland and Norrbotten counties, the number of unemployed persons decreased compared with 2017. In Stockholm County the number of unemployed persons decreased by 8 000, and amounted to 74 000. In Södermanland County the decrease was 3 000, and there were 12 000 unemployed persons. In Västernorrland County and Norrbotten County the number of unemployed persons decreased by 2 000 respectively, and amounted to 6 000 in both counties. The number of unemployed persons in Kronoberg County and Blekinge County increased by 2 000 each and amounted to 8 000 and 7 000 respectively.

Persons not in the labour force

In 2018, there were, on average, 2 004 000 persons aged 15–74 who were not in the labour force. Men accounted for 931 000 and women accounted for 1 073 000 of these persons. Among Swedish born men the number decreased by 23 000 to 751 000. Among foreign born men the number increased by 17 000 to 180 000. There were 950 000 retired persons and the number of persons with poor health decreased by 18 000, amounting to 271 000. There were 495 000 full-time students, a decrease of 27 000.

There were 354 000 externally recruited persons

Among persons aged 15–74, there were 354 000 externally recruited persons on average per quarter in 2018. There were 173 000 and 181 000 externally recruited men and women respectively per quarter. Among those externally recruited, 38 percent, or 134 000 persons, were young persons aged 15–24. Young people are more likely to be externally recruited than older persons. On average, 62 000 persons were internally recruited per quarter in 2018, of whom approximately 50 percent were men and 50 percent were women.

A more detailed report on the labour market situation for the entire population aged 15–74 is available in the Statistical Report.