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Published: 24 January 2017

Unemployment rate 7.9 per cent in December

According to Statistics Finland’s Labour Force Survey, the number of unemployed persons in December 2016 was 207,000, which was 34,000 lower than one year ago. The unemployment rate was 7.9 per cent, having been 9.2 per cent in December of the year before. There were 34,000 more employed than in December of the previous year. The unemployment rate in the fourth quarter (October to December) was 8.0 per cent, which was 0.7 percentage points lower than in the respective quarter of 2015. In 2016, the unemployment rate was on average 8.8 per cent, having been 9.4 per cent in 2015.

Unemployment rate and trend of unemployment rate 2006/12–2016/12, persons aged 15–74

Unemployment rate and trend of unemployment rate 2006/12–2016/12, persons aged 15–74

In December 2016, the number of employed persons was 2,421,000 (margin of error ±33,000), which was 34,000 more than a year earlier. There were 31,000 more employed men and 3,000 more employed women than in December 2015.

In December 2016, the employment rate , that is, the proportion of the employed among persons aged 15 to 64, stood at 68.3 per cent, having been 66.9 per cent one year earlier. From last year’s December, men’s employment rate rose by 2.0 percentage points to 69.7 per cent and women’s by 0.6 percentage points to 66.8 per cent. Adjusted for seasonal and random variation, the trend of the employment rate was 69.0 per cent.

According to Statistics Finland's Labour Force Survey, there were 207,000 unemployed in December 2016 (margin of error ±18,000), i.e. 34,000 fewer than one year earlier. The number of unemployed men was 113,000 and that of women 94,000.

At 7.9 per cent, the unemployment rate was 1.3 percentage points lower in December than one year earlier. Men’s unemployment rate was 8.2 per cent and women’s 7.5 per cent. The trend of the unemployment rate was 8.6 per cent.

In December, there were a total of 634,000 young people aged 15 to 24 . Of them, 248,000 were employed and 43,000 unemployed. The number of young people in the active population, i.e. the employed and unemployed in total, was 291,000. In December, the unemployment rate for young people aged 15 to 24, that is, the proportion of the unemployed among the labour force, stood at 14.7 per cent, which was 4.6 percentage points lower than one year previously. The trend of the unemployment rate among young people was 19.2 per cent. The share of unemployed young people aged 15 to 24 among the population in the same age group was 6.7 per cent.

There were 1,481,000 persons in the inactive population in December 2016, which was the same as one year earlier. Of the inactive population, 166,000 persons were in disguised unemployment , which was 12,000 more than in December 2015.

Changes in employment 2015/12 – 2016/12 according to Statistics Finland’s Labour Force Survey, population aged 15 to 74

  Year/Month Change
2015/12 2016/12 2015/12 - 2016/12
1000 persons Per cent, %
Population total 4 109 4 109 0,0
Active population total 2 628 2 628 0,0
Employed 2 387 2 421 1,4
– employees 2 045 2 095 2,4
– self-employed persons and unpaid family workers 342 326 –4,8
Unemployed 241 207 –14,0
Inactive population 1 481 1 481 0,0
– Persons in disguised unemployment 154 166 7,8
  Per cent, % Percentage points
Employment rate, persons aged 15 to 64 66,9 68,3 1,3
Unemployment rate 9,2 7,9 –1,3
Activity rate 64,0 64,0 0,0
Unrounded figures are used in the Change column.
The data comply with the ILO/EU definition.

Labour Force Survey data for the fourth quarter of 2016

The average number of employed persons in the fourth quarter of 2016 was 2,427,000, or 14,000 higher than in the corresponding quarter of 2015. The number of employed persons increased most in construction (F).

The number of hours worked by employed persons was almost the same in the fourth quarter of 2016 as twelve months previously.

The average number of unemployed persons in the fourth quarter of 2016 was 212,000, which was 18,000 fewer than in the October to December period of 2015. The unemployment rate in the fourth quarter of 2016 was 8.0 per cent, which was 0.7 percentage points lower than in the respective period of 2015.

In the fourth quarter of 2016, the number of persons in the inactive population was 1,470,000, which was 5,000 higher than a year earlier. Of the inactive population, 167,000 persons were in disguised unemployment , which was 10,000 more than in the corresponding period of 2015.

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

  Year/Quarter Change
2015/IV 2016/IV 2015/IV - 2016/IV
1000 persons Per cent (%)
Active population total 2 643 2 639 –0,1
Employed persons total 2 412 2 427 0,6
Unemployed total 230 212 –7,8
– men 126 115 –8,9
– women 104 98 –6,3
Inactive population 1 465 1 470 0,3
– Persons in disguised unemployment 157 167 6,4
Unrounded figures are used in the Change column.
The data comply with the ILO/EU definition.

Labour Force Survey annual averages for 2016

In 2016, the average number of employed persons was 2,448,000, which was 11,000 higher than in 2015. In 2016, the employment rate was 68.7 per cent, having been 68.1 per cent in 2015.

The unemployment rate was, on average, 8.8 per cent in 2016, having been 9.4 per cent in 2015. In 2016, the average number of unemployed persons was 237,000, which was 15,000 lower than in 2015.

The number of hours worked by employed persons was 1.6 per cent higher in 2016 than in 2015. The amount of labour input per employed person also increased slightly.

The annual averages from the Labour Force Survey for the year 2016 are published in the appendix tables of this publication and in the database tables of Statistics Finland's Labour Force Survey . A general review on annual data concerning 2016 and on time series data for 2007 to 2016 will be released on 12 April 2017.

Employment Service Statistics of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment

At the end of December 2016, there were altogether 358,000 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 20,000 lower than in December 2015.

Unemployment fell in December from the corresponding period in 2015 in the areas of all Employment and Economic Development Centres: most in Kainuu (–16%), Etelä-Savo (–9%), South Ostrobothnia (–9%), Pohjois-Savo (–9%), and Lapland (–8%). At the end of December, the number of temporarily laid off persons registered at the employment and economic development offices was 28,000, which was 7,000 fewer than twelve months earlier.

The number of persons engaged in services included in the activation rate totalled 114,000 at the end of December, which was 6,000 more than in December of the previous year. Altogether, 4.3 per cent of the labour force was covered by labour market policy services.

There were 48,000 unemployed job seekers aged under 25 registered at the employment and economic development offices. Their number was 4,000 lower than in December of the year before. During last December, 37,000 new vacancies were reported to the employment and economic development offices, which was 2,000 more than in December 2015.

Changes 2015/12–2016/12 according to the Employment Service Statistics of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment

  Year/Month Change
2015/12 2016/12 2015/12 - 2016/12
1000 persons Per cent, %
Unemployed job seekers 378 358 –5,3
– unemployed over a year 118 122 3,2
Services, total 108 114 6,0
– employed 19 22 15,6
– in labour market training, in training 21 21 1,2
– engaged in work/training trials 11 10 –10,2
– as a job alternation substitute, in rehabilitative work, self-motivated studies supported by unemployment benefit 57 61 7,7
New vacancies at employment and economic development offices 35 37 4,7
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, December. Statistics Finland

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

Director in charge: Jari Tarkoma

Publication in pdf-format (746.4 kB)

Tables

Tables in databases

Pick the data you need into tables, view the data as graphs, or download the data for your use.

Appendix tables

Figures
Quality descriptions

Updated 24.1.2017

Referencing instructions:

Official Statistics of Finland (OSF): Labour force survey [e-publication].
ISSN=1798-7857. December 2016. Helsinki: Statistics Finland [referred: 16.12.2024].
Access method: http://www.stat.fi/til/tyti/2016/12/tyti_2016_12_2017-01-24_tie_001_en.html