260,400 unemployed jobseekers in December

The number of unemployed jobseekers decreased by 14,900. The number of new vacancies reported in December totalled 72,600. In all, the number of unfilled vacancies amounted to 129,500, which is 35,000 fewer than a year ago.

At the end of December, a total of 260,400 unemployed jobseekers were registered at the Employment and Economic Development Offices and municipalities participating in the local government pilots on employment. This is 14,900 fewer than a year earlier and 25,600 more than in the previous month. 

Of the unemployed jobseekers, 140,600, or 4,100 fewer than in December a year ago, were customers of municipalities participating in the local government pilots on employment. The number of unemployed jobseekers also includes those fully laid off. These figures are from the Employment Bulletin of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment.

At the end of December, the number of people laid off was 29,600 in the whole country, which was 4,400 fewer than at the same time the year before. The number of people fully laid off totalled 23,600, representing a decrease of 1,800 from December the year before. The number of people fully laid off increased by 9,700 from November.

86,200 unemployed in the long term

The number of long-term unemployed — i.e. those who had been unemployed without interruption for at least a year — totalled 86,200, down 21,100 on the previous year. The number of unemployed jobseekers aged over 50 was 96,000, or 9,400 fewer than at the same time a year earlier.

The number of unemployed jobseekers aged under 25 was 28,100, representing a decrease of 3,000 from December the year before. Of the unemployment periods of youths, 61.9 per cent ended before reaching three months between January and December. This is 0.8 percentage points more than the year before.

Decrease in new vacancies

The number of new vacancies reported during December totalled 72,600, or 17,900 fewer than in December the previous year. In all, the number of unfilled vacancies in December was 129,500, which is 35,000 fewer than a year ago.

At the end of December, the number of persons covered by services included in the activation rate amounted to 107,200, up 3,000 on the previous year. These services include pay subsidies, labour market training, rehabilitative work and self-motivated studies.

Statistics Finland: The trend of the unemployment rate 6.9%

According to the Labour Force Survey issued by Statistics Finland, in December the number of people in employment was 10,000 more than on the previous year. The trend of the employment rate was 74.5%, which was 1.2 percentage points higher than in December the year before. According to the Survey, the unemployment total was 187,000, which is the same number than a year ago. The trend of the unemployment rate was 6.9%, or 0.1 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 employment service statistics of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment persons 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 of 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.

Inquiries:
Petri Syvänen, Ministerial Adviser, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, tel. +358 295 048 050