Decrease in unemployed jobseekers in May

A total of 226,500 unemployed jobseekers were registered at the Employment and Economic Development Offices at the end of May. This was 15,000 fewer than a year earlier. The number of unemployed jobseekers decreased by 3,100 from the previous month. The figures are from the Employment Service Statistics of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment.

The number of long-term unemployed — that is those who had been unemployed without interruption for at least a year — amounted to 62,400, down by 14,900 on the previous year. The number of unemployed jobseekers over 50 years of age was 85,000, or 7,900 fewer than at the same time a year earlier.

Unemployed jobseekers under 25 years of age numbered 28,700, representing a decrease of 900 from May last year. On average, 65.6 per cent of the unemployment periods of youths ended before reaching three months between January and May. This is 2.5 percentage points less than a year before.

Increase in new vacancies

The number of new vacancies reported to Employment and Economic Development Offices during May totalled 66,000, or 3,500 more than in May the previous year. In all, the number of unfilled vacancies at Employment and Economic Development Offices in May amounted to 129,100, which was 10,600 more than a year ago.

At the end of May, the number of persons covered by services included in the activation rate amounted to 123,800, down by 6,900 on the previous year. These services include pay subsidies, labour market training, work trials and self-motivated study.

At the end of May, the number of people laid off was 13,900 in the whole country, which was 1,400 fewer than at the same time the year before. The number of people fully laid off totalled 8,400, which was 100 more than in last year's May. Statistics Finland: Unemployment rate 8.8%

According to the Labour Force Survey issued by Statistics Finland, in May the number of people in employment was up 32,000 on the previous year. The employment rate was 73.1%, which was 0.8 percentage points higher than in May the year before. According to the Survey, the unemployment total was 249,000, which is 12,000 fewer than a year ago. The unemployment rate was 8.8%, or 0.5 percentage points lower than the previous year.

Statistics Finland: Unemployment rate 8.8%

According to the Labour Force Survey issued by Statistics Finland, in May the number of people in employment was up 32,000 on the previous year. The employment rate was 73.1%, which was 0.8 percentage points higher than in May the year before. According to the Survey, the unemployment total was 249,000, which is 12,000 fewer than a year ago. The unemployment rate was 8.8%, or 0.5 percentage points lower than the previous year.

Key differences between Employment Service Statistics and the Labour Force Survey

This information is based on the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment’s Employment Service Statistics and the Labour Force Survey of Statistics Finland. The Employment Service Statistics of the Ministry are compiled on the basis of the information in the Employment and Economic Development Offices’ customer register, while the Labour Force Survey of Statistics Finland is based on sampling.

In the MEAE Employment Service Statistics, people that are not in employment relationship or employed in business are listed as unemployed. Persons fully laid-off but not full-time students are also categorised as unemployed in the Employment Service Statistics. The Labour Force Survey of Statistics Finland has a stricter definition for being unemployed: a person is unemployed if he or she has actively sought employment during the preceding four weeks and is available for work over the coming two weeks. The figures of the Labour Force Survey of Statistics Finland are internationally comparable and thus they are the official Finnish unemployment statistics.

Further information on the differences in the statistics: http://www.stat.fi/til/tyti/tyti_2016-08-23_men_001_en.html

Inquiries:

Petri Syvänen, Ministerial Adviser, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, tel. +358 29 504 8050