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Published: 22 November 2016

Unemployment rate 8.1 per cent in October

According to Statistics Finland’s Labour Force Survey, the number of unemployed persons in October 2016 was 217,000, which was 18,000 lower than one year ago. The unemployment rate was 8.1 per cent, having been 8.7 per cent in October of the year before. The number of employed persons was nearly the same as in October of the previous year. The number of persons in the inactive population was 22,000 higher than one year earlier.

Unemployment rate and trend of unemployment rate 2006/10–2016/10, persons aged 15–74

Unemployment rate and trend of unemployment rate 2006/10–2016/10, persons aged 15–74

In October 2016, the number of employed persons was 2,446,000 (margin of error ±33,000), which was almost the same as one year earlier. There were 30,000 more employed men and 32,000 fewer employed women than in October 2015.

In October, the employment rate , that is, the proportion of the employed among persons aged 15 to 64, remained unchanged compared to October 2015 at 68.4 per cent. The employment rate for men grew by 2.0 percentage points from last year’s October to 70.1 per cent. The employment rate for women fell by 2.0 percentage points to 66.7 per cent. Adjusted for seasonal and random variation, the trend of the employment rate was 68.9 per cent.

According to Statistics Finland's Labour Force Survey, there were 217,000 unemployed in October 2016 (margin of error ±18,000), i.e. 18,000 fewer than in October of the year before. The number of unemployed men was 111,000 and that of women 105,000.

At 8.1 per cent, the unemployment rate was 0.6 percentage points lower in October than one year earlier. Men’s unemployment rate was 8.0 per cent and women’s 8.2 per cent. The trend of the unemployment rate was 8.6 per cent.

In October, there were a total of 635,000 young people aged 15 to 24 . Of them, 228,000 were employed and 47,000 unemployed. The number of young people in the active population, i.e. the employed and unemployed in total, was 275,000. In October, the unemployment rate for young people aged 15 to 24, that is, the proportion of the unemployed among the labour force, stood at 17.1 per cent, which was 0.7 percentage points lower than one year previously. The trend of the unemployment rate among young people was 20.0 per cent. The share of unemployed young people aged 15 to 24 among the population in the same age group was 7.4 per cent.

There were 1,446,000 persons in the inactive population in October 2016, which was 22,000 more than one year earlier. Of the inactive population, 168,000 persons were in disguised unemployment , which was 3,000 more than in October 2015.

Changes in employment 2015/10–2016/10 according to Statistics Finland’s Labour Force Survey, population aged 15 to 74

  Year/Month Change
2015/10 2016/10 2015/10 - 2016/10
1000 persons Per cent, %
Population total 4 106 4 109 0,1
Active population total 2 682 2 663 –0,7
Employed 2 448 2 446 –0,1
– employees 2 094 2 103 0,5
– self-employed persons and unpaid family workers 354 343 –3,2
Unemployed 234 217 –7,5
Inactive population 1 424 1 446 1,6
– persons in disguised unemployment 165 168 2,0
  Per cent, % Percentage points
Employment rate, persons aged 15 to 64 68,4 68,4 0,1
Unemployment rate 8,7 8,1 –0,6
Activity rate 65,3 64,8 –0,5
Unrounded figures are used in the Change column.
The data comply with the ILO/EU definition.

Employment Service Statistics of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment

At the end of October 2016, there were a total of 329,000 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 9,000 lower than in October of the year before.

Unemployment fell in October from the corresponding period in 2015 in the areas of eleven Employment and Economic Development Centres: most in Kainuu (–14%), South Ostrobothnia (–9%), Pohjois-Savo (–8%), Lapland (–7%), Etelä-Savo (–7%) and Häme (–7%). Unemployment increased only in the areas of the Economic Development Centres of Satakunta (7%), Ostrobothnia (5%), North Karelia (1%) and Pirkanmaa (1%). At the end of October, the number of temporarily laid off persons registered at the employment and economic development offices was 20,000, which was 3,000 fewer than twelve months earlier.

The number of persons engaged in services included in the activation rate totalled 129,000 at the end of October, which was 8,000 more than in October of the previous year. Altogether, 4.8 per cent of the labour force was covered by labour market policy services.

There were 41,000 unemployed job seekers aged under 25 registered at the employment and economic development offices. Their number was 2,000 lower than in last year's October. During this October, 40,000 new vacancies were reported to the employment and economic development offices, which was 4,000 more than in October 2015.

Changes 2015/10–2016/10 according to the Employment Service Statistics of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment

  Year/Month Change
2015/10 2016/10 2015/10 - 2016/10
1000 persons Per cent, %
Unemployed job seekers 338 329 –2,6
– unemployed over a year 113 123 8,5
Services, total 121 129 6,5
– employed 21 23 12,3
– in labour market training, in training 26 27 2,5
– engaged in work/training trials 13 12 –8,2
– as a job alternation substitute, in rehabilitative work, self-motivated studies supported by unemployment benefit 60 66 9,6
New vacancies at employment and economic development offices 36 40 10,2
Unrounded figures are used in the Change column.

Contact information for the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment:
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 Economic Affairs and Employment

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

Job vacancy survey

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, October. Statistics Finland

Inquiries: Joanna Viinikka 029 551 3796, Pertti Taskinen 029 551 2690, tyovoimatutkimus@stat.fi

Director in charge: Jari Tarkoma

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Updated 22.11.2016

Referencing instructions:

Official Statistics of Finland (OSF): Labour force survey [e-publication].
ISSN=1798-7857. October 2016. Helsinki: Statistics Finland [referred: 16.11.2024].
Access method: http://www.stat.fi/til/tyti/2016/10/tyti_2016_10_2016-11-22_tie_001_en.html