25 January 1996
Slowdown in growth of employment in December
According to the Labour Force Survey of Statistics Finland the number of employed increased only slightly in December compared to the corresponding period of the year before. This was due primarily to the decline in employment in primary production.Men's employment improved by a good one per cent whereas women's employment fell by half a per cent from December 1994. There was an increase of about 30 000 in the number of jobs in the province of Uusimaa in December.
After adjustment for seasonal variation, employment declined slightly from November to December.
Unemployment stood at 416 000 in December, which is 10 000 less than the year before. Men accounted for 55 per cent of the unemployed and women for 45 per cent. The unemployment rate was 17.0 per cent. The unemployment rate of men fell by one percentage point to 17.8 per cent, whereas that of women rose slightly, from 15.9 per cent to 16.2 per cent. Seasonally adjusted unemployment decreased by 2 000 from November to December.
Changes in the labour force from December 1994 to
December 1995,
1 000 persons
Unrounded figures are used in the CHANGE column figures.
There were 70 000 unemployed young persons in December. Unemployment amongst the young fell by a few thousand in one year.
The unemployment rate was down in trade and commerce by a good 3 percentage points and up in construction by close on 3 percentage points. 36 per cent of the work force in construction was out of work in December.
Employment improved in 1995
After a period of five years of decline, there was now a rise in the number of employed compared to the year before. An average of 2 068 000 persons were employed last year, which is 44 000 more than in 1994. Men's employment was up by 37 000 and that of women by 7 000.
The highest rise in the number of jobs last year occurred in the metal industry. Construction also picked up slightly compared to the year before. Wholesale trade, real estate and business activities as well as education, health care and social services also employed more persons in 1995 than the year before.
There were on average 430 000 unemployed persons in 1995, of which 230 000 were men and 200 000 women. Unemployment was down by 26 000 on the previous year. The average unemployment rate in 1995 was 17.2 per cent, being in excess of one percentage point lower than the year before.
Higher unemployment figures in the Ministry of Labour
The data of the Labour Force Survey of Statistics Finland are collected by interviewing monthly some 12,000 Finns of working age. The Labour Force Survey is a panel survey based on a sample, in which the same person is surveyed five times over a period of eighteen months. The data to be published now are for the period 4-10 December.
The Labour Force Survey provides data both on employment and unemployment. It is based on the recommendations of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and it is comparable with the corresponding statistics of other countries.
The Ministry of Labour also publishes statistics on unemployment. The data on unemployed job applicants are from the last working day of the month. Owing to differences in methods and definitions, the unemployment figures of Statistics Finland and the Ministry of Labour are not comparable. However, the figures generally change in a parallel manner so that the figures of the Ministry of Labour exceed those of Statistics Finland by a few tens of thousands. At the end of December there were 478,000 unemployed persons in the Ministry of Labour's register of job applicants.
Source: Labour Force Survey, December 1995
Further Information: Tapio Oksanen, tel. +358 0 1734 3228,
Hannu Siitonen, tel. +358 0 1734 3225