According to the latest service indicator from Almega, the employer and trade organisation for the Swedish services sector, there was strong demand and production growth in the private sector for the third quarter.

The Almega service indicator is a quarterly-based economic indicator for the private sector. The growth was due in part to a flourishing healthcare industry.

“The heavy growth for the healthcare industry was a surprise in the second quarter and the indicator showed marked growth in the third. We believe this is because the municipalities had to buy more services from private care companies, as demand for these services has increased sharply from households,” Anna-Karin Hatt, CEO of Almega said.

Almega labor market indicators suggest that employment in private services will have a bigger increase in the third quarter compared with the second quarter.

“An unusually large increase in the number of employed among those born in Sweden during the second quarter contributed to the rise then, but since 2012 it is mainly foreign born who have been behind the increase in employment in Sweden.

The demographic developments and the deteriorating labor market matching, point to a slowdown in the growth rate of employment in the future,” says Lena Hagman Almega's chief economist.