The number of unemployed people was 214,000 in July, an increase of 3,000 compared to the same period of last year, said the Swedish business daily Dagens Industri (DI) Friday.

The number of people applying for labour support programme reached 164,000, taking up 3.5 percent of the labour force in Sweden, which was 10,000 more than the same period last year, reported Xinhua.

Among 18 to 24 years old, the number of the unemployed was 92,000, which was 6,000 more than last year.

Still, "inflow of vacancies at the moment shows that there are still strong recruitment needs of employers", said Clas Olsson from the Swedish Public Employment Service.