After a long period of falling steadily, Sweden's unemployment rate remained on the rise in August, with almost 350,000 people classed as unemployed. That's 8,000 more than in the same month last year.
Among women, the unemployment rate was 7.0 percent at the end of August, compared to 6.9 percent for men. This summer is the first time since 2011 that the unemployment rate is higher for women than for men.
A major part of the reason is the overall slowdown in the Swedish economy, after a couple of years of booming finances, and foreign-born women with little or no education are the worst affected.
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The number of women who have been unemployed for more than 12 months has also increased in Sweden by 1,500 in a year to 74,000. Foreign-born women with a low level of education make up almost the entire increase, according to national job agency Arbetsförmedlingen, which is behind the statistics.
Around 1,800 people were let go in August, fewer than the monthly average of 3,800 in the past year.
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