16.02.202607:32:33UTC+00Swedish Jobless Rate Falls to 8.6%

Sweden’s unemployment rate declined to 8.6% in January 2026, down from 10.4% in January 2025. The total number of unemployed people fell by 102,000 over the year to 490,000, consisting of 225,000 women and 264,000 men. This corresponds to unemployment rates of 8.3% for women and 8.9% for men.

Youth unemployment also decreased: the number of unemployed people aged 15–24 fell by 5,300 to 148,000, resulting in a youth unemployment rate of 23.3%. Over the same period, the number of employed people aged 15–74 increased by 85,000 to 5.194 million.

Long-term unemployment (defined as being unemployed for at least 27 weeks) stood at 191,000 people, including 94,000 women and 98,000 men. The average total number of hours worked per week amounted to 128.6 million.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the overall unemployment rate was 8.7%, while the youth unemployment rate was 23.9%.