Fighting unemployment and achieving full employment has been the labor movement's most important goal since the 1940s. 

One should be careful when comparing historical unemployment figures as the definition and calculations have changed several times.

But some conclusions can be drawn.

Ether that unemployment was at a few percent in the late 80s, it rose sharply after the 90s crisis.

Since then, Swedish unemployment has been relatively high. 

Promised the EU's lowest unemployment

In 2013, when Sweden had almost twice as high unemployment as the EU country with the lowest unemployment, the Social Democrats' new party leader Stefan Löfven promised that Sweden seven years later will be the country with the EU's lowest unemployment. 

SVT has reviewed the government's published documents, government declarations, statements and speeches between the years 2014 and 2020. Various ministers have repeatedly given the promise of the EU's lowest unemployment by 2020. Among them Löfven, Magdalena Andersson and the then Minister of Infrastructure Anna Johansson. 

As 2020 began to approach, unemployment was still far from being the lowest in the EU.

In the spring of 2018, ministers spoke less and less about the goal.

At the same time, the trend for unemployment in the EU was declining.

In Sweden, it turned upwards.

The last time a minister seems to have mentioned the minimum was in a speech by the then Minister of Civil Affairs Ardalan Shekarabi in Kungälv in May 2019. 

"A steering wheel"

In an interview with Swedish Radio in January 2019, the then Minister of Labor Ylva Johansson explained that the reason why Stefan Löfven did not mention the unemployment goal in his government declaration was the so-called January agreement with the Center and the Liberals and that the Riksdag had voted through a budget by the Moderates and Christian Democrats. 

SVT has sought Stefan Löfven and his successor Magdalena Andersson for an interview about the unemployment goal.

None of them want to stand for an interview on the issue but refer to the Minister of Labor Eva Nordmark. 

- It was a goal that we strived for, it has been a steering wheel, says Eva Nordmark.