Humanity Observatory

Sweden: jobs

Sweden's jobs figures from Eurostat, set against the other EU states. Every figure links to the table it was read from; where Eurostat publishes nothing for Sweden, the page says so.

Youth unemployment rate: Sweden is the 3rd highest of the 26 EU member states (2025).

ages 15 to 24, both sexes: 24.3% for Sweden, against 15.2% for the EU as a whole.

Sweden against the EU

Each measure with the states ranked next to it. The latest year with a published figure is used.

Unemployment rate

ages 15 to 74, both sexes

Sweden: 8.8% in 2025, against 6.0% for the EU as a whole — the 4th highest of the 27 EU states with a figure for 2025.

Unemployment rate: Sweden and the states ranked next to it, 2025
RankCountryFigure
2Finland9.7%
3Greece8.9%
4Sweden8.8%
5France7.7%
6Estonia7.5%
—European Union (27, from 2020) (reference, not ranked)6.0%
  • Published from 2005 to 2025. Highest: 8.9% in 2021. Lowest: 6.3% in 2007.
  • Average of the latest published figures (2021–2025): 8.3%*.
  • Above the EU figure in 7* of 17* years with a figure for both (2009–2025).

Youth unemployment rate

ages 15 to 24, both sexes

Sweden: 24.3% in 2025, against 15.2% for the EU as a whole — the 3rd highest of the 26 EU states with a figure for 2025.

Youth unemployment rate: Sweden and the states ranked next to it, 2025
RankCountryFigure
1Romania26.1%
2Spain24.9%
3Sweden24.3%
4Finland21.8%
5Estonia20.7%
—European Union (27, from 2020) (reference, not ranked)15.2%
  • Published from 2005 to 2025. Highest: 24.7% in 2021. Lowest: 16.8% in 2018.
  • Average of the latest published figures (2021–2025): 23.4%*.
  • Above the EU figure in 10* of 17* years with a figure for both (2009–2025).

Employment rate

ages 20 to 64, both sexes

Sweden: 81.8% in 2025, the 4th highest of the 27 EU states with a figure for 2025.

Employment rate: Sweden and the states ranked next to it, 2025
RankCountryFigure
2Netherlands83.4%
3Czechia82.9%
4Sweden81.8%
5Estonia81.7%
6Cyprus81.3%
—European Union (27, from 2020) (reference, not ranked)no figure published

Ranks compare the 27 EU member states. Eurostat’s figure for Cyprus covers the government-controlled area only.

  • Published from 2005 to 2025. Highest: 82.6% in 2023. Lowest: 77.7% in 2005.
  • Average of the latest published figures (2021–2025): 81.7%*.

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Modification notice and disclaimer

The counts on this page are published by Eurostat (Statistical Office of the European Union) and are reproduced unchanged. Humanity Observatory has additionally derived the following from them:

  • A country's rank among the 27 EU states for a measure, computed by sorting the published per-country figures.
  • The highest and lowest point of the country's own published annual series.
  • The average of the country's latest published annual figures (up to five years).
  • The number of years in which the country's figure was above the EU figure for the same year.

Source: Eurostat. Reuse terms.

* Calculated by Humanity Observatory from published figures.

Where these numbers come from →