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Published: 25 January 2018

Unemployment rate 8.4 per cent in December

According to Statistics Finland’s Labour Force Survey, the number of unemployed persons in December 2017 was 227,000, which was 20,000 higher than one year ago. The unemployment rate was 8.4 per cent, having been 7.9 per cent in December of the year before. There were 48,000 more employed than in December of the previous year. The unemployment rate in the fourth quarter (October to December) was 7.6 per cent, which was 0.4 percentage points lower than in the respective quarter of 2016. In 2017, the unemployment rate was, on average, 8.6 per cent, having been 8.8 per cent in 2016.

Unemployment rate and trend of unemployment rate 2007/12–2017/12, persons aged 15–74

Unemployment rate and trend of unemployment rate 2007/12–2017/12, persons aged 15–74

In December 2017, the number of employed persons was 2,469,000 (margin of error ±33,000), which was 48,000 more than a year earlier. There were 19,000 more employed men and 30,000 more employed women than in December 2016.

In December 2017, the employment rate , that is, the proportion of the employed among persons aged 15 to 64, stood at 69.6 per cent, having been 68.3 per cent one year earlier. From last year’s December, men’s employment rate rose by 0.7 percentage points to 70.4 per cent and women’s by 2.0 percentage points to 68.8 per cent. Adjusted for seasonal and random variation, the trend of the employment rate was 70.7 per cent.

According to Statistics Finland's Labour Force Survey, there were 227,000 unemployed in December 2017 (margin of error ±18,000), i.e. 20,000 more than one year earlier. The number of unemployed men was 125,000 and that of women 103,000.

At 8.4 per cent, the unemployment rate in December was 0.6 percentage points higher than one year earlier. Men’s unemployment rate was 8.9 per cent and women’s 7.9 per cent. The trend of the unemployment rate was 8.4 per cent.

In December, there were a total of 624,000 young people aged 15 to 24 . Of them, 249,000 were employed and 46,000 unemployed. The number of young people in the active population, i.e. the employed and unemployed in total, was 295,000. In December, the unemployment rate for young people aged 15 to 24, that is, the proportion of the unemployed among the labour force, stood at 15.5 per cent, which was 0.8 percentage points higher than one year previously. The trend of the unemployment rate among young people was 18.8 per cent. The share of unemployed young people aged 15 to 24 among the population in the same age group was 7.3 per cent.

There were 1,423,000 persons in the inactive population in December 2017, which was 58,000 fewer than one year earlier. Of the inactive population, 145,000 persons were in disguised unemployment , which was 21,000 fewer than in December 2016.

Changes in employment 2016/12 – 2017/12 according to Statistics Finland’s Labour Force Survey, population aged 15 to 74

  Year/Month Change
2016/12 2017/12 2016/12 - 2017/12
1000 persons Per cent, %
Population total 4 109 4 119 0,2
Active population total 2 628 2 697 2,6
Employed 2 421 2 469 2,0
– employees 2 095 2 157 2,9
– self-employed persons and unpaid family workers 326 312 –4,1
Unemployed 207 227 9,8
Inactive population 1 481 1 423 –3,9
– Persons in disguised unemployment 166 145 –12,7
  Per cent, % Percentage points
Employment rate, persons aged 15–64 68,3 69,6 1,3
Unemployment rate 7,9 8,4 0,6
Activity rate 64,0 65,5 1,5
Unrounded figures are used in the Change column.
The data comply with the ILO/EU definition.

Labour Force Survey data for the fourth quarter of 2017

The average number of employed persons in the fourth quarter of 2017 was 2,486,000, or 59,000 higher than in the corresponding quarter of 2016. The number of employed persons increased most in professional, scientific and technical activities (M) and education (P).

The number of hours actually worked by employed persons was 1.8 per cent higher in the fourth quarter of 2017 than twelve months previously.

The average number of unemployed persons in the fourth quarter of 2017 was 205,000, which was 8,000 fewer than in the October to December period of 2016. The unemployment rate in the fourth quarter of 2017 was 7.6 per cent, which was 0.4 percentage points lower than in the respective period of 2016.

In the fourth quarter of 2017, the number of persons in the inactive population was 1,429,000, which was 42,000 fewer than a year earlier. Of the inactive population, 142,000 persons were in disguised unemployment , which was 25,000 fewer than in the corresponding period of 2016.

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

  Year/Quarter Change
2016/IV 2017/IV 2016/IV - 2017/IV
1000 persons Per cent (%)
Active population total 2 639 2 690 1,9
Employed persons total 2 427 2 486 2,4
Unemployed total 212 205 –3,6
– men 115 113 –2,0
– women 98 92 –5,5
Inactive population 1 470 1 429 –2,8
– Persons in disguised unemployment 167 142 –14,8
Unrounded figures are used in the Change column.
The data comply with the ILO/EU definition.

Labour Force Survey annual averages for 2017

In 2017, the average number of employed persons was 2,473,000, which was 25,000 more than in 2016. In 2017, the employment rate was 69.6 per cent, having been 68.7 per cent in 2016.

The unemployment rate was, on average, 8.6 per cent in 2017, having been 8.8 per cent in 2016. In 2017, the average number of unemployed persons was 234,000, which was slightly lower than in 2016.

The number of hours actually worked by employed persons was 0.7 per cent higher in 2017 than in 2016. The amount of labour input per employed person remained almost unchanged.

The annual averages from the Labour Force Survey for the year 2017 are published in the appendix tables of this publication and in the database tables of Statistics Finland's Labour Force Survey . A general review on annual data concerning 2017 and on time series data for 2008 to 2017 will be released on 12 April 2018.

Employment Service Statistics of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment

At the end of December 2017, there were altogether 296,000 persons registered in accordance with the Employment Office Regulations as unemployed job seekers at the employment and economic development offices . The number of unemployed job seekers was 63,000 lower than in December 2016.

Unemployment fell in December from the corresponding period in 2016 in the areas of all Employment and Economic Development Centres: most in Satakunta (–25%), Pirkanmaa (–25%) and Ostrobothnia (–22%). At the end of December, the number of fully laid off persons registered at the employment and economic development offices was 17,000, which was 10,000 fewer than twelve months earlier.

The number of persons engaged in services included in the activation rate totalled 115,000 at the end of December, which was the almost same number as in December of the year before. Altogether, 4.2 per cent of the labour force was covered by labour market policy services.

There were 38,000 unemployed job seekers aged under 25 registered at the employment and economic development offices. Their number was 10,000 lower than in December of the previous year. During last December, 40,000 new vacancies were reported to the employment and economic development offices, which was 3,000 more than in December 2016.

Changes 2016/12–2017/12 according to the Employment Service Statistics of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment

  Year/Month Change
2016/12 2017/12 2016/12 - 2017/12
1000 persons Per cent, %
Unemployed job seekers 358 296 –17,5
– unemployed over a year 122 92 –24,9
Services, total 114 115 0,4
– employed 22 23 5,6
– in labour market training, in training 21 19 –11,3
– engaged in work/training trials 10 9 –6,1
– as a job alternation substitute, in rehabilitative work, self-motivated studies supported by unemployment benefit 61 63 3,6
New vacancies at employment and economic development offices 37 40 8,7
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, December. Statistics Finland

Inquiries: Joanna Viinikka 029 551 3796, Kirsi Toivonen 029 551 3535, tyovoimatutkimus@stat.fi

Director in charge: Jari Tarkoma

Publication in pdf-format (747.4 kB)

Tables

Tables in databases

Pick the data you need into tables, view the data as graphs, or download the data for your use.

Appendix tables

Figures
Quality descriptions

Updated 25.1.2018

Referencing instructions:

Official Statistics of Finland (OSF): Labour force survey [e-publication].
ISSN=1798-7857. December 2017. Helsinki: Statistics Finland [referred: 29.3.2024].
Access method: http://www.stat.fi/til/tyti/2017/12/tyti_2017_12_2018-01-25_tie_001_en.html