Employment and unemployment in September 2005

- Number of employed persons 32,000 higher than one year ago
- Employment rate 68.0 per cent
- Number of unemployed nearly unchanged
- Rate of unemployment 7.1 per cent, 184,000 unemployed
- 30,000 new vacancies at labour exchange offices
- In January to September 2005, average number of employed persons 32,000 higher than in previous year's corresponding period

According to the Labour Force Survey of Statistics Finland, the number of employed persons was 32,000 higher in September than one year previously. The number of wage earners grew, but that of self-employed persons decreased. There were 27,000 more wage earners employed in continuous, full-time work than in September 2004. Employment increased in the private sector but fell in the public sector. Employment went up in construction, trade, real estate and business services, and in social services. Jobs decreased in agriculture, manufacturing, and transport. Employment increased in the Provinces of Southern and Western Finland but decreased in the Province of Lapland.

In September, the employment rate, that is, the proportion of the employed among persons aged 15 to 64, stood at 68.0 per cent, which is 0.8 percentage points higher than twelve months before. The employment rate for women rose by 0.5 percentage points to 66.2 per cent and that for men by 1.1 percentage points to 69.7 per cent. Adjusted for seasonal variation, the employment rate in September was 67.8 per cent.

Changes in the labour force 9/2004 - 9/2005, thousand persons

	September 2005	September 2004	Change, % 9/04 - 9/05
Statistics Finland's Labour Force Survey:
Employed total	2 400	2 368	1.4
- wage and salary earners	2 076	2 038	1.9
- self-employed and assisting family members	324	330	-1.8
Employment rate, %	68.0	67.2	0.8 ²
Unemployed ¹	184	183	0.7
Unemployment rate, %	7.1	7.2	-0.1 ²
Labour force, total	2 584	2 550	1.3
Labour force participation rate	65.4	64.8	0.6 ²
Economically inactive, total	1 367	1 388	-1.5
- students	381	387	-1.6
- persons performing domestic work	91	97	-6.0
Economically inactive persons in disguised unemployment	100	103	-3.4

Ministry of Labour's Labour Exchange Statistics:
Unemployed job seekers	257	271	-4.9
- unemployed over a year	71	73	-3.2
Employed with subsidised measures	34	38	-8.5
In labour market training	29	31	-7.4
In trainee and job alternation places	22	22	1.3
New vacancies at labour exchange offices	30	25	21.4
Unrounded figures are used in the CHANGE column ¹ Based on the recommendations of the International Labour Organisation (ILO)			² percentage points

According to the Labour Force Survey, there were 184,000 unemployed in September, or almost the same number as one year previously. The rate of unemployment was 7.1 per cent, having been 7.2 per cent one year earlier. Adjusted for seasonal variation, the unemployment rate in September was 8.3 per cent. The unemployment rate for women was 7.9 per cent and that for men 6.4 per cent. The unemployment rate among young people aged 15 to 24 was 16.1 per cent. Adjusted for seasonal variation, the unemployment rate for young people was 20.3 per cent. The rate of unemployment was lowest in the Province of Southern Finland, i.e. 6.0 per cent, and highest in the Province of Lapland at 13.3 per cent.

According to the Labour Force Survey, in the January to September period of 2005 the average number of employed persons was 2,402,000, which is 32,000 higher than in the corresponding period of the year before. The average number of unemployed persons was 227,000, or 11,000 lower than in January to September 2004.

At the end of September 2005, there were altogether 257,000 persons registered, in accordance with the Unemployment Security Act and the Labour Exchange Office Regulations, as unemployed job seekers at the labour exchange offices. The number of unemployed job seekers was 13,000 lower than in September 2004. Unemployment fell from the previous year in the areas of all Employment and Economic Development Centres. The number of those covered by employment policy measures was 5,000 lower than in September 2004, being 3.3 per cent of the labour force. There were 28,000 unemployed job seekers aged under 25 registered at the labour exchange offices. Their number was 4,000 lower than in September 2004. During this September, 30,000 new vacancies were reported to the labour exchange offices, which is 5,000 more than in last year's September.

Differences between the Labour Force Survey and the Labour Exchange Statistics

The employment situation is monitored monthly both with the sample-based Labour Force Survey of Statistics Finland and with the register-based Labour Exchange Statistics of the Ministry of Labour. The Labour Exchange Statistics describe the situation on the last weekday of the month. The data for the Labour Force Survey are collected for every week of the month.

The Labour Force Survey follows the recommendations of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the practices required by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities. According to them, a person is classified as unemployed if he or she is aged 15 or over, does not have a job, has actively sought employment in the past four weeks and would be available for work within two weeks. The Labour Exchange Statistics are based on legislation and administrative regulations.

The Labour Force Survey and the Labour Exchange Statistics apply two basically different statistical criteria to how actively a person seeks work and makes him/herself available on the labour market. Due to the statistical differences, the number of unemployed job seekers may not agree with the number of unemployed calculated in accordance with the ILO recommendations.

Since the Labour Force Survey is a sample survey, its data allow for random variation. In respect of the unemployment rate, for example, the 95 per cent confidence interval or the margin of error is about ± 0.5 percentage points. The confidence interval for the number of unemployed is approximately ± 14,000 persons.

Inquiries:
Statistics Finland: Mr Pekka Tossavainen +358 9 1734 3517, Mr Kalle Sinivuori +358 9 1734 3524, Mr Veli Rajaniemi +358 9 1734 3434; Email: tyovoima.tilastokeskus@stat.fi;
Ministry of Labour: Mr Oiva Lönnberg +358 10 60 48048; Internet: http://www.mol.fi/employmentbulletin
Latest seasonally adjusted unemployment figures published by the EU