Swedish bank Handelsbanken says Sweden’s economy has signs of weak growth and the unemployment rate has increased compared to other European Union member-states.
Handelsbanken chief economist Christina Nyman stated in a press release that the Swedish economy grew by just one per cent in 2019, that she expected the economy would continue to perform poorly this year, and that unemployment would also continue to rise.
“Sweden is the only country in the EU where unemployment has clearly increased in recent years,” Nyman said.
The economist went on to say that the labour market in Sweden would likely be weaker than both the EU and United States averages in the coming year, and that predicted wage increases could lead to low inflation.
“We believe that economic indicators will start to turn up during the year and that the Riksbank will therefore still leave interest rates unchanged at zero percent both this year and next year,” she said.
The Swedish unemployment rate, according to newspaper Dagens Industri, is expected to sit at around 7.2 per cent this year and rise even further to 7.4 per cent in the following year.
Sweden’s unemployment rate shows a massive disparity when native Swedes are compared to foreign-born residents.
A report released in October of last year showed that as many as 90 per cent of migrants who arrived during the height of the 2015 migrant crisis and received permanent residency were unemployed.
Another report from earlier this month revealed that in the 18 to 25 age bracket, close to half of Swedish debtors were migration-background young men.
The struggling economy has left many local governments in financial peril as costs for services for new migrants remain high and existing unemployed migrants do not add to the already strained tax base.
Eight out of ten municipalities will be forced to make serious cuts to local services as a result of mass migration and changing demographics.