Unemployment set to rise
The number of unemployed people rose to 7 300 in September of this year, according to the Public Employment Service's monthly figures. Unemployment increased by 8,4 which is up from last Septmember's increase of 8,2 percent.
According to Clas Olsson from the Public Employment Service, the decreasing number of job positions indicates that employers' outlook on the future is increasingly pessimistic due to a general slow turn in the economy.
The total number of unemployed people in Sweden in September was around 219, 000 people, an increase from the figure of 206, 775 from September 2011.
According to news agency TT, unemployment is only set to rise due to the layoffs announced this October.
Steel giant SSAB announced on Wednesday that it plans to lay off 450 people, while Volvo plans to move its bus manufacturing production to Poland, causing further unemployment. Swedish paper company Holmen also announced this month that it plans to shut down the company's oldest paper mill, causing 230 employees to lose their jobs.
The impact of the layoffs has not yet shown up in unemployment figures, but Anders Rune from industrial employers' organisation Teknikföretagen says the increasing unemployment is due to cuts to industrial production.
"Higher unemployment is in the cards considering the fact that there has been a visible decrease in industrial production, but no evident decrease in the number of employees", Rune told TT.
