While the unemployment rate for Sweden as a whole dropped to 7.8 percent in January 2017 compared to 8 percent a year prior, the agency's stats show that the rate varies between Sweden's 21 counties.
University city Uppsala and its surrounding county has the lowest unemployment rate in the country at 5.9 percent. But a short drive north to Gävleborg sees the rate hit 11.4 percent – the highest in Sweden.
Similarly, Stockholm is the county with the second lowest unemployment rate (6 percent), but a short drive west to Södermanland sees the rate shoot up to the second highest in Sweden, 11 percent.
“The chances of employment vary in different parts of the country. But we can see that those who have an upper secondary school education have a better chance in general. That applies particularly to industries where there is a shortage of labour, like in educational work, construction and IT,” Arbetsförmedlingen's head analyst Annika Sundén explained a press release.
The variation in unemployment rate between Sweden's 21 counties can be observed at a glance with the interactive map below.
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For people born in Sweden, the unemployment rate is only 4.3 percent, but for those born abroad the rate shoots up to 22.1 percent. One explanation provided by the agency is that many people who have moved to Sweden in recent years lack an upper secondary school education, which puts them at a disadvantage when attempting to find a job.
In an interview with The Local Voices last year Sweden's employment minister Ylva Johansson said that discrimination may also be a factor.
The OECD's Economic Survey of Sweden 2017 recently warned that unemployment is growing among foreign-born residents in the country, and that action must be taken to contain the growing income gaps.
In December the Swedish government announced that its economic forecasts will now feature a new measure for tracking gaps in wealth in Sweden.
There were a total of 378,000 people registered at Arbetsförmedlingen as unemployed as of January 2017, a decrease of 7,000 compared to January 2016.