Nearly 356,000 people, or 6.7 percent of the workforce, were registered as unemployed with the country's employment agencies at the end of November.
This means that unemployment has fallen for four months in a row and is also clearly lower than at the same time last year. The highest number of unemployed people was 380,000 at the beginning of the year, according to figures from the Swedish Public Employment Service.
Lowest in a long time
In line with this development, the number of people given notice of termination is also falling, to just under 4,100 in November, the lowest figure in two years, with the exception of August this year.
"There is still a high level of unemployment. But it is of course positive to see that the number of registered unemployed is decreasing and has been for a few months. Fewer notices equate to fewer new registered unemployed," says Lars Lindvall, head of forecasting at the Swedish Public Employment Service, in a written comment.
Fewer young people without jobs
Youth unemployment also continues to fall slightly, both compared to the previous month and over the past year. This is usually an early sign of where the labor market is heading. Young people are often hired early in an upturn, and conversely are the first to go when employers cut back.
The Swedish Public Employment Service's statistics also show that more people are getting jobs now compared to a year ago.
However, things are still sluggish for those far from the labor market. There, the numbers are barely moving at all, and there are still a few thousand more people who have been out of work for over a year, 151,000 individuals, than at the same time last year. Of these, around 82,000 people have been out of work for over two years, also a figure that is quite stagnant.
