Employment weakened and unemployment grew in 2024

Both mens's and women's employment weakened in 2024

In 2024, the average number of employed persons aged 15 to 74 was 2,602,000, which was 25,000 less than in 2023. There were 5,000 fewer employed men and 20,000 fewer employed women than in 2023.

The employment rate of persons aged 20 to 64 was 76.7 per cent in 2024, which was 1.2 percentage points lower than in 2023. The employment rate of men aged 20 to 64 fell from the previous year by 1.1 percentage points to 76.8 per cent and that of women fell by 1.4 percentage points to 76.6 per cent.

The employment rate of persons aged 15 to 64 was 72.1 per cent in 2024, which was 1.5 percentage points lower than in 2023. The employment rate of men aged 15 to 64 fell from the previous year by 1.1 percentage points to 72.0 per cent and that of women fell by 1.8 percentage points to 72.3 per cent.

In 2024, the number of employed persons aged 15 to 74 increased most in human health and social work activities (Q), with 23,000 more employed compared to the previous year. The number of employed persons decreased most in professional, scientific and technical activities (M), by 13,000 persons.

The number of hours worked by employed persons was 4,070.4 million hours in 2024, which was 0.3 per cent lower than one year before.

Number of unemployed grew from the previous year

In 2024, the average number of unemployed persons aged 15 to 74 was 238,000, which was 34,000 more than in 2023. The number of unemployed men was 135,000 and that of women 104,000 in 2024.

In 2024, the unemployment rate of people aged 15 to 74 stood at 8.4 per cent, which was 1.2 percentage points higher than in 2023. Men's unemployment rate was 9.2 per cent, while it was 7.9 per cent in 2023. The unemployment rate of women was 7.6 per cent, having been 6.5 per cent in the year before.

Share of employed persons working part-time remained unchanged

In 2024, the number of part-time employed persons was 482,000, which was 18.5 per cent of all employed persons. The share of persons working part-time of all employed persons was the same as one year previously.

The most common reason for working part-time in 2024 was studying, which was reported 126,000 persons or 26.2 per cent of part-time workers. In all, 118,000 or 24.5 per cent worked part-time because full-time work was not available. Their number was 9,000 more than the previous year.

Number of women in the inactive population increased

In 2024, the number of persons aged 15 to 74 in the inactive population was 1,312,000, which was 13,000 more than in 2023. The number of women in the inactive population increased and that of men remained almost unchanged.