Sweden’s unemployment rate eased to 8.1% in September 2026, down from 8.3% a year earlier. The total number of unemployed declined by 9.5 thousand from September 2025, reaching 466.4 thousand. This figure comprises 239 thousand unemployed women and 227 thousand unemployed men, corresponding to unemployment rates of 8.6% and 7.6%, respectively.
Among people aged 15–24, 168 thousand were unemployed, translating into a youth unemployment rate of 20.8%. The number of long-term unemployed—defined as those without work for at least 27 weeks—stood at 173 thousand, of whom 74 thousand were women and 99 thousand were men.
Meanwhile, employment among people aged 15–74 increased by 54.2 thousand over the year, reaching 5.3 million, including 2.53 million women and 2.76 million men. The average total number of hours worked per week amounted to 175.4 million.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, the overall unemployment rate was 8.7%, while the seasonally adjusted youth unemployment rate was 23.2%.
