FX.co ★ Swedish Jobless Rate Rises to 9.7%

Sweden experienced a rise in its unemployment rate to 9.7% in May 2025, up from 8.7% in May of the previous year. This represents the highest unemployment rate since January, with an increase of 65,000 unemployed individuals year-over-year, bringing the total to 561,000. Despite this, employment also saw growth, with 44,000 more individuals employed, reaching a total of 5.23 million. Consequently, the employment rate advanced by 0.3 percentage points to 68.6%, and the labor force participation rate edged up by 1.1 percentage points to 76%. The average weekly total hours worked stood at 167.4 million. When seasonally adjusted, the unemployment rate remained steady at 8.7%, consistent with the previous year's figure for the same period.