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Published: 21 March 2017

Unemployment rate 9.2 per cent in February

According to Statistics Finland’s Labour Force Survey, the number of unemployed persons in February 2017 was 242,000, which was 6,000 fewer than one year ago. The unemployment rate was 9.2 per cent, having been 9.4 per cent in February of the year before. There were 8,000 more employed than in February of the previous year. The number of persons in the inactive population was 4,000 lower than one year earlier.

Unemployment rate and trend of unemployment rate 2007/02–2017/02, persons aged 15–74

Unemployment rate and trend of unemployment rate 2007/02–2017/02, persons aged 15–74

In February 2017, the number of employed persons was 2,390,000 (margin of error ±33,000), which was 8,000 more than a year earlier. There were 8,000 more employed men and as many employed women as in February 2016.

In February, the employment rate , that is, the proportion of the employed among persons aged 15 to 64, stood at 67.3 per cent, having been 66.7 per cent one year earlier. The employment rate for men grew by 0.5 percentage points from last year’s February to 67.4 per cent. The employment rate for women rose by 0.7 percentage points to 67.1 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 242,000 unemployed in February 2017 (margin of error ±19,000), which was slightly fewer than one year before. The number of unemployed men was 137,000 and that of women 105,000.

At 9.2 per cent, the unemployment rate in February was 0.2 percentage points lower than one year earlier. Men’s unemployment rate was 10.1 per cent and women’s 8.2 per cent. The trend of the unemployment rate was 8.7 per cent.

In February, there were a total of 632,000 young people aged 15 to 24 . Of them, 229,000 were employed and 68,000 were unemployed. The number of young people in the active population, i.e. the employed and unemployed in total, was 297,000. In February, the unemployment rate for young people aged 15 to 24, that is, the proportion of the unemployed among the labour force, stood at 22.8 per cent, which was 1.3 percentage points lower than one year previously. The trend of the unemployment rate among young people was 20.2 per cent. The share of unemployed young people aged 15 to 24 among the population in the same age group was 10.7 per cent.

There were 1,476,000 persons in the inactive population in February 2017, which was 4,000 fewer than one year earlier. Of the inactive population, 159,000 persons were in disguised unemployment , which was 3,000 more than in February 2016.

Changes in employment 2016/02–2017/021 according to Statistics Finland’s Labour Force Survey, population aged 15 to 74

  Year/Month Change
2016/02 2017/02 2016/02 - 2017/02
1000 persons Per cent, %
Population total 4 110 4 108 0,0
Active population total 2 630 2 632 0,1
Employed 2 382 2 390 0,3
– employees 2 043 2 050 0,4
– self-employed persons and unpaid family workers 340 340 0,0
Unemployed 248 242 –2,4
Inactive population 1 480 1 476 –0,2
– persons in disguised unemployment 156 159 1,9
  Per cent, % Percentage points
Employment rate, persons aged 15 to 64 66,7 67,3 0,6
Unemployment rate 9,4 9,2 –0,2
Activity rate 64,0 64,1 0,1
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 February 2017, there were altogether 332,000 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 29,000 lower than in February 2016.

Unemployment fell in February from the corresponding period in 2016 in the areas of all Employment and Economic Development Centres: most in Kainuu (–17%), South Ostrobothnia (–12%), Pirkanmaa (–11%), and Central Finland (–10%). At the end of February, the number of temporarily laid off persons registered at the employment and economic development offices was 23,000, which was 7,000 fewer than twelve months earlier.

The number of persons engaged in services included in the activation rate totalled 126,000 at the end of February, which was 7,000 higher than in February of the year before. 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 5,000 lower than in the previous year's February. During this February, 57,000 new vacancies were reported to the employment and economic development offices, which was 2,000 fewer than in February 2016.

Changes 2016/02–2017/02 according to the Employment Service Statistics of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment

  Year/Month Change
2016/02 2017/02 2016/02 - 2017/02
1000 persons Per cent, %
Unemployed job seekers 361 332 –8,0
– unemployed over a year 122 117 –3,8
Services, total 119 126 5,9
– employed 19 22 15,2
– in labour market training, in training 24 25 6,5
– engaged in work/training trials 13 12 –7,1
– as a job alternation substitute, in rehabilitative work, self-motivated studies supported by unemployment benefit 63 66 5,5
New vacancies at employment and economic development offices 60 57 –3,7
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

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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 2017, February. Statistics Finland

Inquiries: Pertti Taskinen 029 551 2690, Ulla Hannula 029 551 2924, tyovoimatutkimus@stat.fi

Director in charge: Jari Tarkoma

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Updated 21.3.2017

Referencing instructions:

Official Statistics of Finland (OSF): Labour force survey [e-publication].
ISSN=1798-7857. February 2017. Helsinki: Statistics Finland [referred: 16.12.2024].
Access method: http://www.stat.fi/til/tyti/2017/02/tyti_2017_02_2017-03-21_tie_001_en.html