Population labour market status - new register-based labour market statistics in Sweden, Statistics Sweden, Sweden

In 2022, Statistics Sweden (SCB) introduced a new statistical product in the labour market area, the Population's labour market status (LMS). 1 The product is mainly administrative-based and contains more variables. It has a higher reporting frequency than the previous register statistics in the labour market area (Labour statistics based on administrative sources) 2 and starting from January 2020. 3 The conditions for this register arose when the Swedish Tax Agency began in January 2019 to demand PAYE. 4 Thanks to the unique identity numbers (both individual and firms/organisations) and together with Statistics Sweden’s possibility of obtaining data from the Swedish Tax Agency, Statistics Sweden is now able to produce a comprehensive register of all Swedish residents between 15 and 74 years of age. In Sweden, the Labour Force Surveys (LFS) and LMS are statistics products often used to: monitor, assess and evaluate the current situation and development of the labour market and the economic activity. Demands on the labour market statistics, as well as the prerequisites to produce statistics, have changed dramatically over time. The non-response rate for the LSF is now 57,7 percent (February 2024) and the conditions for using sample surveys get harsher. Meanwhile, users demand more and faster information, both in terms of content and timeliness. Statistics Sweden is also obliged to consider the burden of reporting for firms/organisations and use existing register data as much as possible. The purpose of the statistics is to provide information on the labour supply in Sweden on a monthly, quarterly and annual basis for the entire Swedish population of individuals. LMS provides statistics on the Swedish population divided into six labour market statuses. LMS is used as a basis for analysis, investigations, research and policy decisions on the labour market area. The statistics describe the labour supply and aim to show the current situation of the labour market and its development over time. At the national level, the statistics are used by, government ministries, the Swedish central bank, the National Institute of Economic Research and financial institutions. The statistics are also used at a lower regional level and are used by users at the municipalities and regions. This is a possibility thanks to Sweden's system, whereby all persons are assigned a unique identification number, making it possible to link registry data from various sources. LMS uses administrative registers from: the Swedish Public Employment Service, the Swedish Companies Registration Office, the Swedish Board of Student Finance, the Swedish Social Insurance Agency, the Swedish Pensions Agency and the National Board of Health and Welfare and are used together with Statistics Sweden's basic register of the Total Population Register (TPR) and the Statistical Business Register (SBR).