Over the course of 2020, the district courts in Sweden issued decisions on 7,296 business bankruptcies. The number of bankruptcies initiated fell by 1% compared with 2019. The number of employees affected by the bankruptcies was 23,593 individuals, an increase of 5%.

Unless noted otherwise, all comparisons refer to 2019.

The number of companies involved in hearings on compositions without bankruptcies amounted to 313, compared to 187 companies. The number of employees in these companies was 9,932 individuals, compared to 5,646.

The manufacturing industry experienced 6,527 bankruptcies, representing a 4% increase. Among qq//trading and limited partnerships, the number of bankruptcies was to 211 companies and among individual traders 558 companies; in both cases decreases of 28 percent.

Business bankruptcies by industry

Within the manufacturing industry, the number of bankruptcies decreased by 3 percent in 2020 and the number of employees in the companies by 35 percent. Within the construction industry, the number of bankruptcies fell by 6 percent, whereas the number of employees affected by bankruptcies was a 12 percent lower level.

Within the retail industry, bankruptcies decreased by 7 percent while the number of employees affected increased by 39 percent, 4,042 employees compared to 2,904 employees. The increase in the number of employees affected occurred primarily in retail trade in household goods and retail trade in information and communications equipment.

Within the restaurant, catering and bar industry, bankruptcies increased by 11 percent during the year. The number of employees affected by bankruptcies increased by 37 percent, 2,630 employees compared to 1,917 employees.
Within the hotel and accommodations sector, the number of bankruptcies initiated increased by 72 percent during the year, 62 companies compared to 36 companies in 2019. These companies had 383 employees (124 employees the prior year).

Bankruptcies in the transport and communications sector increased by 4 percent in 2020, and the number of employees affected was down by 2 percent. Broken down by the two main groups of transport and storage companies and information and communication companies, including computer programming and consulting, bankruptcies increased by 17 percent in transport and storage, while they decreased by 10 percent among information and communications companies.

Within the financial, real estate and business services sectors, bankruptcies increased by 7 percent and the number of employees affected by 22 percent.

Within the education, healthcare, and other personal services sectors, the number of business bankruptcies decreased by 13 percent. The number of employees in the hotel and restaurant sector affected by bankruptcies increased by 6%.

Business bankruptcies by county

During 2020, the number of bankruptcies in Stockholm County decreased by 5 percent, while in Västra Götaland County the number increased by 4 percent and in Skåne County by 7 percent.

Bankruptcies in Stockholm County decreased by 2 percent in the financial, real estate and business services sectors, by 9 percent in the construction industry and by 6 percent in retail. In the restaurant, catering and bar sectors, bankruptcies increased by 2 percent.

In Västra Götaland County, bankruptcies increased by 17 percent in the financial, real estate and business services sectors, and by 33 percent in the restaurant, catering and bar sectors. Within the manufacturing sector, bankruptcies decreased by 25 percent, and in the education, healthcare and other personal services sectors by 10 percent.

In Skåne County, which saw an overall increase of 7 percent, bankruptcies increased by 36 percent in the financial, real estate and business services sectors and by 50 percent in the restaurant, catering and bar sectors. Within retail, bankruptcies decreased by 26 percent, and in the construction industry by 5 percent.

Among other counties with major changes in the number of business bankruptcies, the decrease of 28 percent in the number of bankruptcies in Kalmar County related primarily to the financial, real estate and business services sectors with a decrease of 42 percent, followed by the retail sales sector, with a decrease of 40 percent.

In Dalarna, bankruptcies increased by 18 percent. The increase can be attributed essentially to increases in the manufacturing industry, but also transport and communication as well.

The decrease in the number of bankruptcies by 14 percent in Västernorrland County concerned primarily the manufacturing industry and the restaurant, catering and bar sectors, while bankruptcies increased in transport and communications.

Business bankruptcies by number of employees

In companies without employees, the number of bankruptcies in 2020 was 3,802 companies (compared to 3,708 companies), an increase of 3 percent. In companies with 1 to 4 employees, bankruptcies decreased by 3 percent, and among companies by 5 to 9 employees by 7 percent. In companies with 10 to 19 employees, bankruptcies decreased by 12 percent, and among companies with 20 employees or more, the figure is unchanged, 205 companies compared to 203 companies.

The share of companies without having employees during the year was 52 percent. However, the share increased significantly towards the end of the year and averaged 64 percent in October to December, compared to 51 percent in the corresponding period in 2019. Thus in the last quarter of 2020, compared to 2019 bankruptcies increased by 16 percent in companies without employees, while they decreased in all size classes with employees. In total, during the period bankruptcies in companies with employees decreased by 32 percent.