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Published: 24 May 2016

Unemployment rate 9.8 per cent in April

According to Statistics Finland’s Labour Force Survey, the number of unemployed persons in April 2016 was 264,000, which was 16,000 fewer than one year ago. The unemployment rate was 9.8 per cent, having been 10.3 per cent in April of the year before. There were 7,000 fewer employed than in April of the previous year. The number of persons in the inactive population was 32,000 higher than one year earlier.

Unemployment rate and trend of unemployment rate 2006/04–2016/04, persons aged 15–74

Unemployment rate and trend of unemployment rate 2006/04–2016/04, persons aged 15–74

In April 2016, the number of employed persons was 2,422,000 (margin of error ±33,000), which was 7,000 lower than a year earlier. There were 5,000 more employed men and 12,000 fewer employed women than in April 2015.

In April 2016, the employment rate , that is, the proportion of the employed among persons aged 15 to 64, stood at 67.9 per cent, having been 67.7 per cent one year earlier. The employment rate for men grew by 0.8 percentage points from last year’s April to 68.4 per cent. The employment rate for women fell by 0.4 percentage points to 67.5 per cent. Adjusted for seasonal and random variation, the trend of the employment rate was 68.5 per cent.

According to Statistics Finland's Labour Force Survey, there were 264,000 unemployed (margin of error ±20,000) in April 2016, i.e. 16,000 fewer than one year earlier. The number of unemployed men was 145,000 and that of women 119,000.

At 9.8 per cent, the unemployment rate in April was 0.5 percentage points lower than one year earlier. Men’s unemployment rate was 10.5 per cent and women’s 9.1 per cent. The trend of the unemployment rate was 9.1 per cent.

The number of young people aged 15 to 24 was 638,000 in April. Of them, 233,000 were employed and 94,000 unemployed. The number of young people in the active population, i.e. the employed and unemployed in total, was 327,000. In April, the unemployment rate for young people aged 15 to 24, that is, the proportion of the unemployed among the labour force, stood at 28.7 per cent, which was nearly the same as one year previously. The trend of the unemployment rate among young people was 21.4 per cent. The share of unemployed young people aged 15 to 24 among the population in the same age group was 14.7 per cent.

There were 1,423,000 persons in the inactive population in April 2016, which was 32,000 more than one year earlier. Of the inactive population, 132,000 persons were in disguised unemployment , which was 9,000 more than in April 2015.

Changes in employment 2015/04–2016/04 according to Statistics Finland’s Labour Force Survey, population aged 15 to 74

  Year/Month Change
2015/04 2016/04 2015/04 - 2016/04
1000 persons Per cent, %
Population total 4 099 4 109 0,2
Active population total 2 708 2 686 –0,8
Employed 2 429 2 422 –0,3
– employees 2 053 2 080 1,3
– self-employed persons and unpaid family workers 375 341 –9,0
Unemployed 280 264 –5,7
Inactive population 1 391 1 423 2,3
– persons in disguised unemployment 123 132 7,4
  Per cent, % Percentage points
Employment rate, persons aged 15 to 64 67,7 67,9 0,2
Unemployment rate 10,3 9,8 –0,5
Activity rate 66,1 65,4 –0,7
Unrounded figures are used in the Change column.
The data comply with the ILO/EU definition.

Employment Service Statistics of the Ministry of Employment and the Economy

At the end of April 2016, there were altogether 341,000 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 2,000 higher than in April 2015.

Unemployment fell in April from the corresponding period in 2015 in the areas of nine Employment and Economic Development Centres: most in Kainuu (–6%), Häme (–5%), and North Ostrobothnia (–4%). In the areas of all other Employment and Economic Development Centres, unemployment increased: most in Ostrobothnia (6%), Uusimaa (4%) and Pirkanmaa (3%). At the end of April, the number of temporarily laid off persons registered at the employment and economic development offices was 24,000, which was 4,000 fewer than twelve months earlier.

The number of persons engaged in services included in the activation rate totalled 125,000 at the end of April, which was 4,000 fewer than in April of the year before. Altogether, 4.7 per cent of the labour force was covered by labour market policy services.

There were 43,000 unemployed job seekers aged under 25 registered at the employment and economic development offices. Their number was almost the same as in last year's April. During this April, 60,000 new vacancies were reported to the employment and economic development offices, which is 17,000 more than in April 2015.

Changes 2015/04–2016/04 according to the Employment Service Statistics of the Ministry of Employment and the Economy

  Year/Month Change
2015/04 2016/04 2015/04 - 2016/04
1000 persons Per cent, %
Unemployed job seekers 339 341 0,7
– unemployed over a year 104 121 16,3
Services, total 129 125 –3,0
– employed 33 22 –32,8
– in labour market training, in training 27 24 –10,7
– engaged in work/training trials 13 13 1,7
– as a job alternation substitute, in rehabilitative work, self-motivated studies supported by unemployment benefit 55 65 17,4
New vacancies at employment and economic development offices 44 60 38,0
Unrounded figures are used in the Change column.

Contact information for the Ministry of Employment and the Economy:
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 Employment and the Economy

Latest seasonally adjusted employment figures published by the EU can be found on Eurostat's home page http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat

Job vacancies

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 2016, April. Statistics Finland

Inquiries: Joanna Viinikka 029 551 3796, Ulla Hannula 029 551 2924, tyovoimatutkimus@stat.fi

Director in charge: Jari Tarkoma

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Updated 24.05.2016

Referencing instructions:

Official Statistics of Finland (OSF): Labour force survey [e-publication].
ISSN=1798-7857. April 2016. Helsinki: Statistics Finland [referred: 16.12.2024].
Access method: http://www.stat.fi/til/tyti/2016/04/tyti_2016_04_2016-05-24_tie_001_en.html