Unemployment among immigrants with non-European backgrounds in Sweden is now higher than it was in 2005

The Local:

Swedish labour market board AMS said on Monday that 7.4 percent of the working-age population was unemployed or in labour market programmes in August, a slight fall both compared to August 2005. The figure for 'open unemployment' was 4.6 percent.

But the opposition Moderate Party dismissed the figures, saying that the government was set to miss its goal of getting open unemployment down to four percent, and pointing out that unemployment among immigrant groups was up compared to one year ago.

"Göran Persson said when he laid out his plans for government in 2002 that 'this parliament's most important job' was to tackle 'the exclusion of so many immigrants.'," said Moderate Party integration spokesman Tobias Billström.

"Then, open unemployment among foreign-born people was 6.3 percent. In July 2006 it was 10.9 percent - nearly twice as high," Billström added.

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