STOCKHOLM: Swedish adjusted unemployment fell to its lowest level since 2008 in April, reinforcing the picture of a strong economy ahead of next week's growth figures as well as the central bank's view that inflation will continue to rise.
Seasonally adjusted unemployment was 6.7 percent, the lowest figure since October 2008, and down from 7.2 percent in March.
"The strong growth and improved labour market support our view that the Riksbank is done easing, although the bank's main focus remains on the ECB and inflation," Nordea analyst Torbjorn Isaksson said.
The central bank has cut rates to a record low of -0.50 percent and extended its bond buying programme to lift inflation to its 2-percent target at its last meeting.
Headline unemployment fell to 7.3 percent, below the forecast of a flat figure at 7.7 percent in a Reuters poll of analysts.
Total employment stood at 4.873 million people, up from 4.833 million people the previous month.
The Swedish crown strengthened after the data was published on Tuesday.
First-quarter GDP is due on May 30. In the fourth quarter, the Swedish economy grew 4.5 percent on an annual basis.
Comments
Comments are closed.