FX.co ★ Sweden Unemployment Rate Falls To 6.4%

Swedish jobless rate declined in November and the employment rate increased, reflecting the resilience of the labor market despite a slowing economy, figures from Statistics Sweden showed on Friday.

The unadjusted jobless rate fell to 6.4 percent in November from 7.1 percent in October. In the same month last year, the unemployment rate was 7.3 percent.

The number of unemployed persons decreased to 342,700 in November from 379,300 in the previous month.

The youth unemployment rate, which is applied to the 15-24 age group, decreased to 17.0 percent in November from 21.4 percent in the prior month.

The employment rate rose to 78.5 percent in November from 78.2 percent in the preceding month. The number of employed persons rose to 5.009 billion from 4.977 billion in October.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the jobless rate was 7.2 percent in November.

"Employment is still increasing, and so is the number of hours worked," Lena Johansson, statistician at the Labor Force Surveys at Statistics Sweden, said.

"Unemployment is decreasing but at a slower pace than before."