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Published: 24 May 2017

Unemployment rate 10.2 per cent in April

According to Statistics Finland’s Labour Force Survey, the number of unemployed persons in April 2017 was 279,000, which was 15,000 higher than one year ago. The unemployment rate was 10.2 per cent, having been 9.8 per cent in April of the year before. There were 21,000 more employed than in April of the previous year. The number of persons in the inactive population was 35,000 lower than one year earlier.

Unemployment rate and trend of unemployment rate 2007/04–2017/04, persons aged 15–74

Unemployment rate and trend of unemployment rate 2007/04–2017/04, persons aged 15–74

In April 2017, the number of employed persons was 2,443,000 (margin of error ±33,000), which was 21,000 more than a year earlier. There were 18,000 more employed men and 3,000 more employed women than in April 2016.

In April 2017, the employment rate , that is, the proportion of the employed among persons aged 15 to 64, stood at 68.6 per cent, having been 67.9 per cent one year earlier. From last year’s April, men’s employment rate rose by 0.9 percentage points to 69.3 per cent and women’s by 0.3 percentage points to 67.8 per cent. Adjusted for seasonal and random variation, the trend of the employment rate was 69.2 per cent.

According to Statistics Finland's Labour Force Survey, there were 279,000 unemployed (margin of error ±20,000) in April 2017, i.e. 15,000 more than one year earlier. The number of unemployed men was 150,000 and that of women 128,000.

At 10.2 per cent, the unemployment rate in April was 0.4 percentage points higher than one year earlier. Men’s unemployment rate was 10.7 per cent and women’s 9.8 per cent. The trend of the unemployment rate was 8.9 per cent.

The number of young people aged 15 to 24 was 632,000 in April. Of them, 233,000 were employed and 88,000 unemployed. The number of young people in the active population, i.e. the employed and unemployed in total, was 322,000. 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 27.4 per cent, which was 1.3 percentage points lower than one year previously. The trend of the unemployment rate among young people was 20.3 per cent. The share of unemployed young people aged 15 to 24 among the population in the same age group was 14.0 per cent.

There were 1,387,000 persons in the inactive population in April 2017, which was 35,000 fewer than one year earlier. Of the inactive population, 119,000 persons were in disguised unemployment , which was 13,000 fewer than in April 2016.

Changes in employment 2016/04–2017/04 according to Statistics Finland’s Labour Force Survey, population aged 15 to 74

  Year/Month Change
2016/04 2017/04 2016/04 - 2017/04
1000 persons Per cent, %
Population total 4 109 4 109 0,0
Active population total 2 686 2 722 1,3
Employed 2 422 2 443 0,9
– employees 2 080 2 120 1,9
– self-employed persons and unpaid family workers 341 323 –5,4
Unemployed 264 279 5,5
Inactive population 1 423 1 387 –2,5
– persons in disguised unemployment 132 119 –9,8
  Per cent, % Percentage points
Employment rate, persons aged 15 to 64 67,9 68,6 0,6
Unemployment rate 9,8 10,2 0,4
Activity rate 65,4 66,2 0,9
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 April 2017, there were altogether 304,000 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 37,000 lower than in April 2016.

Unemployment fell in April from the corresponding period in 2016 in the areas of all Employment and Economic Development Centres: most in Pirkanmaa (–19%), Kainuu (–16%), South Ostrobothnia (–15%), and Central Finland (–15%). At the end of April, the number of temporarily laid off persons registered at the employment and economic development offices was 17,000, which was 8,000 fewer than twelve months earlier.

The number of persons engaged in services included in the activation rate totalled 128,000 at the end of April, which was 3,000 more 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 37,000 unemployed job seekers aged under 25 registered at the employment and economic development offices. Their number was 6,000 lower than in last year's April. During this April, 46,000 new vacancies were reported to the employment and economic development offices, which is 14,000 fewer than in April 2016.

Changes 2016/04–2017/04 according to the Employment Service Statistics of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment

  Year/Month Change
2016/04 2017/04 2016/04 - 2017/04
1000 persons Per cent, %
Unemployed job seekers 341 304 –10,8
– unemployed over a year 121 109 –9,9
Services, total 125 128 2,2
– employed 22 23 6,5
– in labour market training, in training 24 25 0,5
– engaged in work/training trials 13 12 –8,3
– as a job alternation substitute, in rehabilitative work, self-motivated studies supported by unemployment benefit 65 67 3,6
New vacancies at employment and economic development offices 60 46 –23,1
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 2017, April. Statistics Finland

Inquiries: Pertti Taskinen 029 551 2690 , Kirsi Toivonen 029 551 3535, tyovoimatutkimus@stat.fi

Director in charge: Jari Tarkoma

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Updated 24.5.2017

Referencing instructions:

Official Statistics of Finland (OSF): Labour force survey [e-publication].
ISSN=1798-7857. April 2017. Helsinki: Statistics Finland [referred: 16.12.2024].
Access method: http://www.stat.fi/til/tyti/2017/04/tyti_2017_04_2017-05-24_tie_001_en.html