Sweden’s unemployment rate edged up to 8.5% in August 2026, from 8.4% in the same month a year earlier. The number of unemployed rose by 19.3 thousand over the year to 505.2 thousand, comprising 251 thousand unemployed women and 255 thousand unemployed men, corresponding to unemployment rates of 8.9% and 8.2%, respectively.
Among those aged 15–24, 144 thousand were unemployed, resulting in a youth unemployment rate of 18.4%. The number of long-term unemployed—defined as those without work for at least 27 weeks—declined by 36 thousand to 168 thousand, of whom 73 thousand were women and 95 thousand were men.
At the same time, employment among people aged 15–74 increased by 102.6 thousand compared with a year earlier, reaching 5.4 million. This total included 2.58 million employed women, an increase of 61 thousand, and 2.85 million employed men. The average total number of hours worked per week was 128.7 million.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, the overall unemployment rate stood at 8.7%, while the seasonally adjusted youth unemployment rate was 23.8%.
