Sweden's unemployment rate rose to 7.1 percent in March 2019 from 6.5 percent in the same month of the previous year and above market expectations of 6.6 percent. It was the highest jobless rate since June 2018, as the number of unemployed increased 39 thousand to 391 thousand while employment rose 59 thousand to 5.1 million. By genders, the jobless rate was 6.9 percent among women and 7.4 percent among men. The employment rate stood at 68 percent, the same as in February. Seasonally adjusted, the unemployment rate was 6.3 percent, up from 6.2 percent in the previous month. Unemployment Rate in Sweden averaged 5.95 percent from 1980 until 2019, reaching an all time high of 10.50 percent in June of 1997 and a record low of 1.30 percent in July of 1989.
Unemployment Rate in Sweden is expected to be 6.90 percent by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate Unemployment Rate in Sweden to stand at 6.50 in 12 months time. In the long-term, the Sweden Unemployment Rate is projected to trend around 6.60 percent in 2020, according to our econometric models.