According to the Swedish Public Employment Service (Arbetsförmedlingen), the figures represent a reduction of 20.6 percent compared to last year´s figures when 153,910 people were unemployed.
The number of newly registered unemployed sank to 59,276 compared to the much higher figure of 81,171 from May 2007. And the numbers just keep getting better: long-term unemployed stats diminished by 37.4 percent, down to 33,651 people in May 2008.
However, a total of 5,144 people were given notice in May this year, an increase of 3,600 from a year earlier. And the number of new job openings listed at employment bureaus diminished by 22,000 compared to May 2007.
Altogether, these figures make up the lowest unemployment stats since 1991 with only 2.6 percent of the workforce signing on as unemployed during the month of May.