Sweden's unemployment soars to 8.5% in August

The unemployment rate in Sweden reached 8.5% in August, up from 7.8% in July, the country's statistical office announced on Wednesday.

The number of unemployed persons reached 505,000 in the country, Statistics Sweden said.

The number of employed people was 5.4 million as of August, up 103,000 from August 2025.

The unemployment rate in Sweden was 9.4% in May and 9.9% in June.

At the last monetary policy meeting, the country kept the policy rate constant, saying: "The measured rate of inflation is still low and unemployment is high.

"However, both growth and inflation have been higher than was forecast in June, and there is still a risk of underlying inflation becoming too high in the wake of the supply shocks."