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Published: 23 December 2008

As many unemployed as one year ago

According to the Labour Force Survey of Statistics Finland, in November 2008 the number of employed persons was 2 509 000, or 38 000 higher than a year earlier. The number of employed persons in the population aged 55 to 64 was 26 000 higher than in November 2007. The total population of this age grew by 18 000 persons. Among wage and salary earners, the number of full-time employees increased and that of fixed-term or part-time employees decreased.

In November, the employment rate , that is, the proportion of the employed among persons aged 15 to 64, stood at 69,8 per cent, which was 0,7 percentage points higher than one year before. Adjusted for seasonal and random variation, the trend of the employment rate was 70,7 per cent. The employment rate of men was 71,4 per cent and that of women 68,2 per cent. The employment rate among young people was 40,5 per cent, or the same as twelve months earlier.

According to the Labour Force Survey, there were 161 000 unemployed in November 2008, i.e. as many as in November of the year before.

At 6,0 per cent, the unemployment rate was 0,1 percentage points lower than one year earlier. The unemployment rate of men was 5,5 per cent and that of women 6,6 per cent. The trend of the unemployment rate was 6,5 per cent in November.

The rate of unemployment was lowest in the Province of Southern Finland, where it stood at 5,1 per cent, and highest in the Province of Lapland, at 11,8 per cent. In November 2008, the unemployment rate among young people aged 15 to 24 was 13,8 per cent, which was 0,3 percentage points lower than in the previous year’s November. The trend of the unemployment rate among young people was 16,8 per cent.

Changes in the labour force 2008/11 – 2007/11 according to Statistics Finland’s Labour Force Survey, thousand persons

  2008/11 2007/11 Change, %
2008/11 - 2007/11
Population aged 15-74 4 012 3 990 0,6
Labour force, total 2 671 2 633 1,4
Employed, total 2 509 2 472 1,5
– employees 2 179 2 179 0,0
– self-employed persons and unpaid family workers 331 293 12,9
Unemployed persons 161 161 0,0
Total persons not in labour force 1 342 1 357 –1,1
      Percentage points
Employment rate (persons aged 15 to 64), % 69,8 69,1 0,7
Unemployment rate, % 6,0 6,1 –0,1
Labour force participation rate, % 66,6 66,0 0,6
Unrounded figures are used in the Change column.
The data comply with the ILO/EU definition.		      

According to the Labour Force Survey, the average number of employed persons in the January to November 2008 period was 2 534 000, which is 42 000 more than over the corresponding period in the year before. The average number of unemployed persons was 173 000, or 13 000 fewer than in the January to November period of 2007.

Employment Service Statistics of the Ministry of Employment and the Economy

At the end of November 2008, there were altogether 201 000 persons registered, in accordance with the Unemployment Security Act and the Labour Exchange Office Regulations, as job seekers at the employment offices . The number of unemployed job seekers was 2 000 higher than in November 2007. Unemployment increased from the previous year in the areas of all other Employment and Economic Development Centres apart from those of Satakunta (-5%), Uusimaa (-3%), Lapland (-2%), Central Finland (-1%) and Southeastern Finland (0%). The number of persons covered by labour market policy measures totalled 86 000 at the end of November, which was 3 000 fewer than in November of the year before. Altogether 3,2 per cent of the labour force were covered by labour market policy measures. There were 21 000 unemployed job seekers aged under 25 registered at the employment offices. Their number was 3 000 higher than in last year's November. During this November, 30 000 new vacancies were reported to the employment offices, which is 7 000 fewer than in November 2007.

Changes 2008/11 – 2007/11 according to the Employment Service Statistics of the Ministry of Employment and the Economy, thousand persons

  2008/11 2007/11 Change, %
2008/11 - 2007/11
Unemployed job seekers 201 199 1,0
– unemployed over a year 40 47 –15,5
Total measures 86 89 –3,4
– employed with subsidised measures 37 35 4,5
– in labour market training 31 34 –9,0
– in trainee and job alternation places 18 19 –7,8
New vacancies at employment offices 30 37 –20,2
Unrounded figures are used in the Change column.      

Contact information for the Ministry of Employment and the Economy:
Mr Petri Syvänen, tel. +359 10 604 8050, http://www.tem.fi/employmentbulletin

Links

Data on laid-off employees are only published from the Labour Force Survey quarterly and annually, see http://tilastokeskus.fi/til/tyti/tyti_2008-12-23_uut_001_en.html .

Differences between the Labour Force Survey and the Employment Service Statistics are explained in the quality description of the Labour Force Survey.

Latest seasonally adjusted employment figures published by the EU  can be found under the theme of Population and social conditions on Eurostat's home page http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu.


Source: Labour force survey 2008, November. Statistics Finland

Inquiries: Heidi Melasniemi-Uutela (09) 1734 2523, Pekka Tossavainen (09) 1734 3517, tyovoimatutkimus@stat.fi

Director in charge: Riitta Harala

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Updated 23.12.2008

Referencing instructions:

Official Statistics of Finland (OSF): Labour force survey [e-publication].
ISSN=1798-7857. November 2008. Helsinki: Statistics Finland [referred: 5.11.2024].
Access method: http://www.stat.fi/til/tyti/2008/11/tyti_2008_11_2008-12-23_tie_001_en.html