During the first six months of the year, 5,872 companies have gone bankrupt in the country. This is an increase of 38 percent compared to the corresponding period last year. The number of employees directly affected by this year’s bankruptcies is 14,675 people, an increase of 65 percent.
– We are in a recession and interest rates are high. Inflation has been high for a while, although it is on the way down, says Jacob Inganäs, who is a statistician at the agency Tillväxtanalys.
Increasing everywhere
Bankruptcies increased in all of Sweden’s 21 counties, and all industries are affected. For example, in Jämtland, bankruptcies increased by 43 percent, while in Skåne the increase was 33 percent.
– It is as a result of the high interest rates and high costs, says Maria Åberg, who is the regional manager of the Chamber of Commerce in Jämtland/Härjedalen.
– We can see, among other things, in the construction industry, that there are many bankruptcies there. Construction has stalled quite a bit in recent times. Therefore, it is not so unexpected that we see many bankruptcies in the construction industry, says Jacob Inganäs.
Many in hotel and logistics operations
The fact that bankruptcies are increasing may also have to do with the pandemic subsidies that were paid out during the corona pandemic.
– These may have made the companies live a little longer than they otherwise would have. There may be a certain lag in terms of the number of bankruptcies, says Jacob Inganäs.
The industries where the most employees are affected are within hotel and logistics operations.
There are bright spots
But there are bright spots. If you compare this year’s June with last year, bankruptcies decreased in nine of the counties. Bankruptcies decreased the most in Jönköping and Dalarna, while bankruptcies increased the most in Halland.
– If we look at the first half of 2024 and compare it with the corresponding period in 2023, we have increases regarding both the number of bankruptcies and how many employees are affected by the bankruptcies. But if we only look at the month of June, we still see a slight improvement, says Jacob Inganäs.
And he gets the nod.
– Based on the fact that the situation is stabilizing with a better economy and lower interest rates, we see that things will lighten up at the end of the year, says Maria Åberg, who is the Chamber of Commerce’s regional manager in Jämtland – Härjedalen.