Employment rate in Sweden 2001-2023

In 2020, the employment rate in Sweden fell to 67.2 percent after the outbreak of COVID-19. It grew by 0.1 percentage point by 2021, but was still below pre-pandemic levels. However, this increased by 2022 and reached 69.4 in 2023. The employment rate was down at the lowest point in 2010, when it was 65.4 percent, which was a result of the financial crisis in 2008 and 2009. Since then, the employment rate increased every year until the COVID-19 outbreak. 

Increase in the working age population

The steady increase in the employment rate over the past 10 years is partly a result of an increasing population of working age, from 15 to 74 years, during the same period. In 2021, roughly five million inhabitants in Sweden were employed, which is a number that constantly increased from 2010 until the outbreak of COVID-19.  

Most employed in the private sector

The largest sector in Sweden in 2021 was the private sector, where over three million individuals were employed. The municipal sector was the second largest, with roughly 1.2 million employees.