Sweden Jobless Rate Rises To 8.4%

(RTTNews) - Sweden's jobless rate increased for the first time in three months in August, figures from Statistics Sweden showed on Wednesday.

The unadjusted unemployment rate climbed to 8.4 percent in August from 8.0 percent in July. In the same month last year, the jobless rate was 7.9 percent.

The number of unemployed increased to 486,000 persons in August from 453,000 persons in the prior month.

The youth unemployment rate, which is applied to the 15-24 age group, came in at 19.8 percent in August.

Meanwhile, the employment rate dropped to 69.7 percent in August from 71.3 percent in the prior month.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the unemployment rate remained stable at 8.7 percent.