Employment rate in Sweden 2001-2023, by gender

Since 2009 and 2010, respectively, employment rates among men and women in Sweden increased steadily until the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020, when it fell for both genders. The fall was more steep for women than men. In 2023, the employment rate for men was nearly 72 percent, whereas it was 67 percent for women. The total employment rate in the country was 69 percent.

The income gap

Even though the employment rate was higher for men than for women for all years in the period, Sweden was still among the countries with the highest female employment rates worldwide. The gap between male and female salaries is also small. In 2022, women’s average earnings as a percentage of men’s was 95 percent, when controlled for occupation, age, education, sector and number of working hours.

Different employment types for men and women

More men than women were permanent employees and self-employed in Sweden, while a higher number of women than men were temporary employees. Around 332,000 men and 403,000 women were temporary employees.