Evaluations
Date: 07 oct 2016
Period: 2007-2013
Theme: Evaluation, Structural Funds management and Governance
Languages: en
The global economic recession hit the Swedish economy harder than many others. Between 2007 and 2009, GDP declined by around 3% a year. However, the economy also recovered more quickly and more strongly from the downturn than most others, growth exceeding 4% a year over the 2009-2011 period, though this was followed by two years of virtual stagnation before growth resumed in 2014 and 2015.
As a result of the recession, the employment rate declined between 2007 and 2009 though the decline was short-lived and it remained at around 80% of population aged 20-64 or just below throughout the period. Unemployment too increased during the recession but in the following years remained at around 8% of the labour force, below the EU average, though in 2015, it was still slightly higher than in 2007.
Although the public sector balance went into deficit in 2009 as a result of the recession, the deficit was less than 1% of GDP and it was kept relatively small in the following years. Government investment too was largely maintained during the period at around 4.5% of GDP, well above the EU average.