Sweden Unemployment Rate Falls More-Than-Expected In May

(RTTNews) - Sweden's unemployment rate dropped more-than-expected in May, a report from Statistics Sweden showed Friday.

The unemployment rate fell to 8 percent in May from 8.7 percent in April. Economists had expected the rate to drop to 8.4 percent. The latest rate was the lowest since December, when it was 7.5 percent.

The total number of unemployed people between the age of 15 to 74 amounted to 413,400 versus 445,100 in the previous month. The number of employed people totaled 4.75 million compared to 4.69 million in April.

The average number of working hours per week rose an unadjusted 2.9 percent in May. The seasonally adjusted number of working hours per week amounted to 145.6 million in May.

The Labor Force Survey indicated an improved market situation, mainly due to a stronger increase in the number of employed persons compared to previous months, the report said.

That said, in order to assess if the strength of the improvement is permanent, at least one more measurement is required, the agency added.