The employment rate among Sweden's foreign-born population increased slowly from 2011 to 2019, but fell in 2020 after the outbreak of COVID-19, reaching 60.6 percent in 2021. Following the peak of the pandemic, this increased to 67.1 percent in 2023.
Simultaneously, the unemployment rate increased, nearly reaching 20 percent in 2021 after being around 15 percent in the years before the pandemic. It then fell to pre-pandemic levels in 2022, and reached 15.1 by 2023. By comparison, the overall employment rate in Sweden was 69.4 percent in 2023, making it five percentage points higher than among the foreign-born population.
Foreign-born population in Sweden from 2013 to 2023, by employment status
Characteristic
Unemployed
Employed
2023
15.1%
67.1%
2022
16%
64.2%
2021
19.5%
60.6%
2020
18.8%
59.7%
2019
15.1%
61.6%
2018
14.7%
61.6%
2017
15.1%
61.7%
2016
15.6%
60.1%
2015
16%
59.5%
2014
16.1%
58.8%
2013
16.2%
57.8%
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Statistics Sweden. (January 27, 2024). Foreign-born population in Sweden from 2013 to 2023, by employment status [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved December 21, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/528421/sweden-foreign-born-population-by-employment-status/
Statistics Sweden. "Foreign-born population in Sweden from 2013 to 2023, by employment status." Chart. January 27, 2024. Statista. Accessed December 21, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/528421/sweden-foreign-born-population-by-employment-status/
Statistics Sweden. (2024). Foreign-born population in Sweden from 2013 to 2023, by employment status. Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: December 21, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/528421/sweden-foreign-born-population-by-employment-status/
Statistics Sweden. "Foreign-born Population in Sweden from 2013 to 2023, by Employment Status." Statista, Statista Inc., 27 Jan 2024, https://www.statista.com/statistics/528421/sweden-foreign-born-population-by-employment-status/
Statistics Sweden, Foreign-born population in Sweden from 2013 to 2023, by employment status Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/528421/sweden-foreign-born-population-by-employment-status/ (last visited December 21, 2024)
Foreign-born population in Sweden from 2013 to 2023, by employment status [Graph], Statistics Sweden, January 27, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/528421/sweden-foreign-born-population-by-employment-status/
