One sign that matching efficiency may have improved, even though unemployment and long-term unemployment have remained high, is that the employment rate among foreign-born persons rose sharply after the pandemic (see Figure 8). Despite a slight decline over the past year, the employment rate for foreign-born persons is almost 4 percentage points higher than before the pandemic. The recent weak outcomes for real wages have probably kept up the demand for labour.

Figure 8. Labour force participation rate and employment rate among Swedish-born and foreign-born persons, 15–74 years Percentage of population in each group

Statistics Sweden does not publish job-finding rates for persons born in Sweden and abroad in the LFS, but the Swedish Public Employment Service’s data for the registered unemployed show that job opportunities for persons born outside Europe are now at a higher level than before the pandemic (see Figure 9). However, the level remains lower than for all those registered as unemployed.

Figure 9. Job-finding rate for unemployed persons registered at the Swedish Public Employment Service Per cent of the registered unemployed