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Swedish unemployment drops again, but foreigners still have a tougher time

TT/The Local
TT/The Local - [email protected]
Swedish unemployment drops again, but foreigners still have a tougher time
A Swedish Public Employment Service office. Photo: Jessica Gow/TT

The unemployment rate continues to drop in Sweden, with the number of foreigners as well as natives out of work both declining.

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In total unemployment sank by 0.5 percent in Sweden between May 2017 and May 2018, meaning the rate dropped from 7.3 to 6.8 percent.

In May 2017 there were 353,000 people registered as unemployed at the Swedish Public Employment Service (Arbetsförmedlingen). The number has now dropped to 338,000.

The improvement applied to both people born in Sweden and foreign-born residents, but there remains a significant gap between the two. The number of unemployed natives dropped by 9,000 to 138,000 people, while the number of unemployed foreign-born people dropped by 6,000 to 200,000.

In percentage terms, unemployment among people born in Sweden is 3.5 percent, while for foreign-born people it is a much bigger 20.2 percent.  Arbetsförmedlingen says that a contributing factor is that many of the people who came to Sweden during the refugee crisis are now registered with them.

Find English-language roles in Sweden on The Local Jobs.

READ ALSO: Swedish labour market 'tougher than ever'

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