Employment and unemployment in March 1999

- 80,000 more employed than a year ago
- Employment rate up in the year by 2.1 percentage points to 63.9 per cent
- Rate of unemployment 10.9 per cent, 271,000 unemployed
- 29,000 new vacancies at labour exchange offices

According to the Labour Force Survey of Statistics Finland, there were 80,000 more employed in March than a year ago. The number of wage-earners went up by 61,000 in the year to March. The number of persons employed in continuous full-time jobs increased by 31,000 and that of persons in part-time and fixed-term jobs by approximately 30,000. During March, 29,000 new vacancies were reported to the labour exchange offices, which is slightly fewer than in the corresponding period last year.

Over the year, the employment rate, that is, the proportion of the employed among persons aged 15 to 64, went up by 2.1 percentage points to 63.9 per cent. Jobs increased most in public and other services, financial, insurance and business services, agriculture and forestry, as well as in trade, and hotel and restaurant activities. Employment improved in all provinces.

According to the Labour Force Survey, there were 271,000 unemployed in March, which is 33,000 fewer than a year ago. The rate of unemployment was 10.9 per cent, which is 1.5 percentage points lower than in March 1998. Both the male and female unemployment rates stood at 10.9 per cent.

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Changes in the labour force 3/1998 - 3/1999, thousand
	March	March	CHANGE, %
	1999	1998	3/98 - 3/99
Statistics Finland Labour Force Survey:
Employed, total	2,220	2,140	3.8
- wage earners	1,901	1,840	3.3
Employment rate, %	63.9	61.8	2.1 ²
Unemployed ¹	271	304	-10.8
Labour force, total	2,491	2,444	2.0
Unemployment rate, %	10.9	12.4	-1.5 ²
Economically inactive, total	1,394	1,429	-2.4
- discouraged job seekers	37	41	-10.9
- other disguised unemployment	89	73	21.7
Ministry of Labour Employment Exchange Statistics:
Unemployed job seekers	355	384	-7.5
- unemployed over a year	101	117	-13.5
Employed with subsidised measures	54	57	-4.7
In labour market training	44	50	-11.9
In trainee and job alternation places	16	15	5.3
New vacancies in labour exchange offices	29	30	-0.4
Unrounded figures are used in the CHANGE column ¹ Based on the recommendations of the International Labour Organisation (ILO)		² percentage points

At the end of March, there were 355,000 persons registered, in accordance with the Unemployment Security Act and the Labour Exchange Office Regulations, as job seekers at the labour exchange offices. This is about 29,000 fewer than in March 1998. The number of unemployed job seekers decreased in the areas of all employment and economic development centres. The number of those covered by employment policy measures fell by 8,000 from the previous year's March and was 4.8 per cent of the labour force.

According to the Labour Force Survey, the unemployment rate, that is, the proportion of the unemployed of the labour force, among persons aged 15 to 24 was 24.3 per cent, which is 2.9 percentage points lower than the year before. There were 42,000 unemployed job seekers aged under 25 registered at the labour exchange offices. Their number fell by 3,000 from the previous year.

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. Calculations in the Labour Exchange Statistics are based on the status quo on the last working day of the month, whereas the Labour Force Survey describes the week that includes the 15th day 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. 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. For this reason, the number of unemployed job seekers does not agree with the number of unemployed calculated in accordance with the ILO recommendations. The difference between the March unemployment figures of Statistics Finland and the Ministry of Labour was of the same magnitude as a year earlier. Unemployed persons who have neither contacted a labour exchange office for over four weeks, nor actively sought work in any other way either, are generally classified in the Labour Force Survey as belonging to disguised unemployment. However, in compliance with the ILO recommendations, the Survey also classifies as unemployed persons seeking jobs by means other than through labour exchange offices.

In the Labour Force Survey, persons who could accept a job but are not actively seeking one are classified as belonging to disguised unemployment. The Survey divides disguised unemployment into two categories: discouraged job seekers are those who do not seek work because they do not think they would find any. Other disguised unemployment consists of persons who do not seek work because of studies, child care or some other reason, although they would be prepared to accept work if it were offered. In accordance with the ILO recommendations, all persons in disguised unemployment are classified in the Survey as not belonging to the labour force.

The Labour Force Survey has adopted wholly the unemployment statistics following the EU's recommendations

As of the statistics for May 1998, Statistics Finland has applied the statistical practice in its unemployment statistics as recommended by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and used in the EU's official statistics. The revision in the statistical practice lowered the rate of unemployment by about 1.5 percentage points in comparison with the old practice. Comparable statistics from previous years are available from Statistics Finland.

Collection of data for the EU's Labour Force Survey, previously carried out every spring, will become continuous and will be combined with the monthly Labour Force Survey with an extended data content as of April 1999.

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 is plus minus 0.6 percentage points. The confidence interval for the number of unemployed is approximately plus minus 15,000 persons.

Inquiries:
Statistics Finland: Mr Hannu Siitonen +358 9 1734 3225, Mr Timo Koskimäki +358 9 1734 3517, e-mail timo.koskimaki@stat.fi, Ms Salme Kiiski +358 9 1734 3230, Mr Tapio Oksanen +358 9 1734 3228; Internet http://www.stat.fi/tk/el/tyoll.html
Ministry of Labour: Mr Oiva Lönnberg +358 9 1856 8048,e-mail oiva.lonnberg@pt2.tempo.mol.fi; Internet http://www.mol.fi/tilasto/tk