Advertisement

Jobless rate to hit 11 percent: agency

TT/The Local
TT/The Local - [email protected]
Jobless rate to hit 11 percent: agency

Sweden’s unemployment rate is expected climb to 11.3 percent in 2010, according to the latest forecast from the National Public Employment Agency (Arbetsförmedlingen).

Advertisement

The agency projects the number of jobless Swedes will rise to 539,000 next year, which would mean an increase of 245,000 unemployed since the start of 2009.

At the same time, total employment is expected to drop by 260,000 people during the same two-year period.

“Despite the dramatic figures, the forecast is based on a stabilization in the labour market during the second half of 2010,” writes Arbetsförmedlingen in a statement.

Groups from every sector of the labour market are expected to be hit by the increasing unemployment, with the biggest jump in the jobless rate expected to be among young people and residents born outside of Europe.

Disabled and older workers aged 55 to 64 are expected to be hit hard as well.

“All these groups risk falling to the back of the line when they need to compete with a rapid rise in the number of unemployed with good education and work experience,” said the labour agency.

The forecast is based on interviews with 13,000 employers.

At the same time, the Manpower staffing company presented its own labour market barometer on Tuesday which forecast a slight upturn in the labour market during the third quarter of 2009.

But the Manpower findings also projected large variations between different industries and regions.

According to the study, the outlook for jobs in electricity, heat and water services looked most promising, as did prospects for the restaurant branch.

Manpower also said that the situation for manufacturing jobs has brightened somewhat from the low point of last quarter.

The Swedish section of the international Manpower survey was based on interviews with 751 employers.

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also