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ECONOMY

Fresh figures show that Sweden’s GDP fell in the second quarter of the year

The Swedish economy shrank in the second quarter as household spending and investment fell, official data show.

Published: 30 August 2024 11:45 CEST
Fresh figures show that Sweden's GDP fell in the second quarter of the year
Swedes spent less on food in the second quarter of the year. Photo: Janerik Henriksson/TT

The country’s gross domestic product contracted by 0.3 percent compared to the first quarter, when it grew 0.7 percent, according to Statistics Sweden.

“GDP decreased slightly in the second quarter. The downturn in the economy was wide but offset by the foreign trade in goods, where exports increased and imports decreased,” said Jessica Engdahl, head of national accounts at Statistics Sweden.

Household consumption fell by 0.2 percent, with lower spending on food and non-alcoholic drinks leading the decline.

Investment declined by 1.7 percent.

Economists expect the Swedish economy to strengthen by the end of the year as inflation eases and interest rates fall.

The Swedish central bank cut rates for the second time this year in August.

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WORKING IN SWEDEN

Swedish long-term unemployment continues to rise

Long-term unemployment rose for the second month in a row last month, according to new figures from Statistics Sweden.

Published: 23 August 2024 11:02 CEST
Swedish long-term unemployment continues to rise

“In July, long-term unemployment rose by 45,000 people compared to July last year,” Statistics Sweden statistician Louise Stener said in a statement.

The agency recently said that the Swedish economy is in a “clear recession” according to almost all indicators, and unemployment figures are also reflecting that.

The number of people aged 15-74 who were in work amounted to 5,444,000 individuals, not seasonally adjusted – that’s a decrease of 80,000 compared to July last year, but not all of those people were classified as long-term unemployed (unemployed for at least 27 weeks).

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Long-term unemployment amounted to 164,000 people, with significant differences when broken down by age and gender.

There were 71,000 women and 93,000 men in long-term unemployment, and 149,000 young people (aged 15-24 years). Youth unemployment hit 17.7 percent, which is an increase of 6.5 percentage points. This data is not smoothed or seasonally adjusted.

The unemployment rate for 15-74 year olds according to smoothed and seasonally adjusted data stood at 8.3 percent – that’s the highest unemployment rate in a decade, including the pandemic. Youth unemployment was even higher, at 24.4 percent.

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