In July, unemployment in all of Sweden decreased by 1.2 percentage points, compared to the same month last year, and now amounts to 6.7 percent.

That's according to new figures from the Employment Agency.

- What we find particularly gratifying is that the good labor market also benefits those with slightly longer enrollment times, says Anders Ljungberg, acting head of analysis at the Employment Service.

Unemployment is decreasing in all counties and in all groups.

More women, men, domestic and foreign-born and young people have a job.

More people work

Since the pandemic ended, there has been a good development for the labor market, according to Ljungberg.

Those who have been unemployed for more than two years have increased by 1,700 people to a total of 97,000, compared to July last year.

Those who have been without a job for more than a year, on the other hand, are 31,000 fewer than last year.

- We were worried before that long-term unemployment would rise to very high levels and now we see that it is decreasing and that is very gratifying.

Compared to the month of June, unemployment has increased from 6.6 to 6.7 percent.

Which can be explained by seasonal factors, mainly because people who have completed high school or university studies register with the Employment Service.

- There is always a bit of seasonal variation during June and July, says Ljungberg.

Recession

The Norwegian Economic Institute (KI) announced on Wednesday that it is expected that Sweden will enter a recession next year.

According to KI, however, the labor market will remain relatively strong.

In the forecast that the Employment Agency published at the beginning of the summer, employers were very positive and expressed a desire to hire more staff, says Ljungberg.

- The problem then was mostly about a lack of labor and that it was difficult to find the right skills.

In the same forecast, the Employment Agency also raised a warning finger on the question of how the uncertainty in the outside world may affect the Swedish labor market in the future.

- What is happening with the war in Ukraine, what is happening with interest rates and inflation may then affect the development of the labor market.

There is no doubt that there are some moments of concern and clouds of worry in the outside world that may affect the labor market.