Unemployment rate in Sweden rose to 9.4 percent of the work force in January from 8.6 in December, Statistics Sweden said Thursday.

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The figure is near the unemployment peak of 9.5 percent the Swedish government forecast for 2010.

From January 2009 to January 2010, the unemployment rate in the Scandinavian country rose 2.1 percentage points, affecting "all age groups between 20 and 54 years," the statistics agency said.

At the end of January, the Swedish government reviewed its economic forecast and said unemployment in the country would peak at 9.5 percent, against 10.7 it had previously foreseen.