Swedish unemployment continues to fall

Swedish unemployment fell by half a percentage point in June compared with the same month last year, according to new figures from the Public Employment Service reported by SVT.

The jobless rate dropped from 6.9% to 6.4%, representing 22,000 fewer registered job seekers than in June 2025, for a total of 344,357 unemployed. Of these, 148,000 have been out of work for more than a year.

Lars Calmfors, emeritus professor of economics, said the decline was expected and largely driven by policy. “It is to a high degree due to politics. Significant tax cuts, lower interest rates, and wages rising faster than prices have boosted consumption,” he told SVT.

Unemployment decreased across all counties, with the highest rates remaining in Skåne (8.4%), Södermanland (8.0%), and Västmanland (7.8%). Calmfors noted that unusually low unemployment in northern Sweden reflects major industrial investments in the region.

He added that unemployment is expected to continue falling toward 6% next year, though geopolitical uncertainty may slow the pace. The figures are based on registry data and are not part of Sweden’s official statistics published by Statistics Sweden (SCB).