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Published: 20 June 2017

Unemployment rate 10.7 per cent in May

According to Statistics Finland’s Labour Force Survey, the number of unemployed persons in May 2017 was 297,000, which was nearly the same as one year ago. The unemployment rate was 10.7 per cent, having been 10.8 per cent in May of the year before. There were 16,000 more employed than in May of the previous year. The number of persons in the inactive population was 13,000 lower than one year earlier.

Unemployment rate and trend of unemployment rate 2007/05–2017/05, persons aged 15–74

Unemployment rate and trend of unemployment rate 2007/05–2017/05, persons aged 15–74

In May 2017, the number of employed persons was 2,465,000 (margin of error ±33,000), which was 16,000 higher than a year earlier. There were 18,000 more employed men and 3,000 fewer employed women than in May 2016.

In May 2016, the employment rate , that is, the proportion of the employed among persons aged 15 to 64, stood at 69.4 per cent, having been 68.6 per cent one year earlier. From last year’s May, men’s employment rate rose by 1.3 percentage points to 71.0 per cent and women’s by 0.3 percentage points to 67.7 per cent. Adjusted for seasonal and random variation, the trend of the employment rate was 69.3 per cent.

According to Statistics Finland's Labour Force Survey, there were 297,000 unemployed in May 2017, which was almost the same as one year earlier (margin of error ±22,000). The number of unemployed men was 149,000 and that of women 148,000.

At 10.7 per cent, the unemployment rate in May was the same as one year before. Men’s unemployment rate was 10.4 per cent and women’s 11.1 per cent. The trend of the unemployment rate was 8.8 per cent.

In May, there were a total of 630,000 young people aged 15 to 24 . Of them, 261,000 were employed and 132,000 unemployed. The number of young people in the active population, i.e. the employed and unemployed in total, was 392,000. In May, the unemployment rate for young people aged 15 to 24, that is, the proportion of the unemployed among the labour force, stood at 33.6 per cent, which was 2.2 percentage points higher than one year previously. The trend of the unemployment rate among young people was 20.4 per cent. The share of unemployed young people aged 15 to 24 among the population in the same age group was 20.9 per cent.

In May, the number of the unemployed in the Labour Force Survey is usually higher than in the other months of the year. Young people looking for a summer job and finishing their studies enter the labour market at the same time, which temporarily raises the number of unemployed and the unemployment rate. In May, the trend adjusted for seasonal and random variation gives a better picture of the level of unemployment than monthly estimates.

There were 1,348,000 persons in the inactive population in May 2017, which was 13,000 fewer than one year earlier. Of the inactive population, 138,000 persons were in disguised unemployment , which was almost the same as in May 2016.

Changes in employment 2016/05–2017/05 according to Statistics Finland’s Labour Force Survey, population aged 15 to 74

  Year/Month Change
2016/05 2017/05 2016/05 - 2017/05
1000 persons Per cent, %
Population total 4 108 4 110 0,0
Active population total 2 747 2 762 0,5
Employed 2 450 2 465 0,6
– employees 2 097 2 120 1,1
– self-employed persons and unpaid family workers 353 346 –2,1
Unemployed 298 297 –0,3
Inactive population 1 361 1 348 –1,0
– persons in disguised unemployment 137 138 0,3
  Per cent, % Percentage points
Employment rate, persons aged 15 to 64 68,6 69,4 0,8
Unemployment rate 10,8 10,7 –0,1
Activity rate 66,9 67,2 0,3
Unrounded figures are used in the Change column.
The data comply with the ILO/EU definition.

Employment Service Statistics of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment

At the end of May 2017, there were altogether 292,000 persons registered in accordance with the Employment Office Regulations as job seekers at the employment and economic development offices. The number of unemployed job seekers was 41,000 lower than in May 2016.

Unemployment fell in May from the corresponding period in 2016 in the areas of all Employment and Economic Development Centres: most in Pirkanmaa (–22%), South Ostrobothnia (–20%), Central Finland (–17%) and Kainuu (–17%). At the end of May, the number of fully laid off persons registered at the employment and economic development offices was 13,000, which was 7,000 fewer than twelve months earlier.

The number of persons engaged in services included in the activation rate totalled 124,000 at the end of May, which was 3,000 more than in May of the year before. Altogether, 4.5 per cent of the labour force was covered by labour market policy services.

There were 35,000 unemployed job seekers aged under 25 registered at the employment and economic development offices. Their number was 7,000 lower than in last year's May. During this May, 52,000 new vacancies were reported to the employment and economic development offices, which was 4,000 more than in May 2016.

Changes 2016/05–2017/05 according to the Employment Service Statistics of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment

  Year/Month Change
2016/05 2017/05 2016/05 - 2017/05
1000 persons Per cent, %
Unemployed job seekers 332 292 –12,2
– unemployed over a year 125 106 –14,8
Services, total 122 124 2,2
– employed 24 25 4,3
– in labour market training, in training 23 22 –2,5
– engaged in work/training trials 13 12 –6,1
– as a job alternation substitute, in rehabilitative work, self-motivated studies supported by unemployment benefit 62 65 4,9
New vacancies at employment and economic development offices 48 52 8,1
Unrounded figures are used in the Change column.

Contact information for the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment:
Petri Syvänen tel. +358 29 504 8050, http://www.temtyollisyyskatsaus.fi

Links

Labour Force Survey tables in databases

About seasonally adjusted trend

The accuracy of figures and the margins of error are explained in the quality description of the Labour Force Survey .

Comparison between the employment statistics of Statistics Finland and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment

Latest seasonally adjusted employment figures published by the EU can be found on Eurostat's home page http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat

Job vacancy survey

Latest data on open job vacancies published by the EU can be found on Eurostat's home page http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat


Source: Labour force survey 2017, May. Statistics Finland

Inquiries: Kirsi Toivonen 029 551 3535, Ulla Hannula 029 551 2924, tyovoimatutkimus@stat.fi

Director in charge: Jari Tarkoma

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Appendix tables

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Updated 20.6.2017

Referencing instructions:

Official Statistics of Finland (OSF): Labour force survey [e-publication].
ISSN=1798-7857. May 2017. Helsinki: Statistics Finland [referred: 29.3.2024].
Access method: http://www.stat.fi/til/tyti/2017/05/tyti_2017_05_2017-06-20_tie_001_en.html