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Published: 18 December 2012

The employment rate of people with foreign origin was 53.3 per cent

According to preliminary data of Statistics Finland's employment statistics for 2011, the employment rate of people with foreign origin between the ages 18 and 64 was 53.3 per cent. Their employment rate was 17.6 per cent lower than the employment rate of people with Finnish origin, 70.9 per cent.

Employment rate by origin in 2000−2011* (*preliminary data)

At the end of 2011, there were 257,248 persons of foreign origin living in Finland of whom 219,702 or 85.4 per cent had been born abroad. There were 37,546 persons who had been born in Finland, so-called second generation immigrants representing 14.6 per cent of all persons with foreign origin.

The employment rate for the entire population was 69.9 per cent and it increased by one percentage point from 2010. The employment rate for people with foreign origin went up by 1.2 percentage points from the previous year.

During the period 2000 to 2011, the difference in the employment rate between persons of foreign and Finnish origin was at its highest in 2000 when it was 22.3 percentage points. The lowest difference in the employment rate was seen in 2008 (16.1 percentage points), when the employment rate for persons with Finnish origin was 71.4 and the employment rate for persons with foreign origin was 55.3 per cent. During the review period, the employment rate for both groups was at its highest in 2007 and 2008.

Over half of men with foreign origin belonged to the labour force

Among men with foreign origin, 52.5 per cent belonged to the labour force, i.e. employed and unemployed persons. Among men with Finnish origin, the share belonging to the labour force was 49.7 per cent, so the difference was 2.8 percentage points. For women of both foreign and Finnish origin, the share belonging to the labour force was nearly the same, around 47 per cent.

The share of unemployed persons of the entire population was highest for women of foreign origin, 10.9 per cent, while the share for women of Finnish origin was the lowest, 3.7 per cent.

Among all men of foreign origin 5.8 per cent were pensioners and among women 7.7 per cent were pensioners. The corresponding shares for persons of Finnish origin were 22.5 per cent for men and 27.0 per cent for women. Among women of foreign origin, 17.9 per cent belonged to the group "other persons outside the labour force". For men, this share was 15.2 per cent. This group includes for instance persons on family leave.

Main activity by origin in 2011, preliminary data

Largest differences in the employment rate for thirty-somethings

Reviewed by age group, the biggest differences in the employment rate was seen for those aged 30 to 39. In this age group, the employment rate for persons of Finnish origin, 82.7 per cent, was 26.4 percentage points higher than for persons of foreign origin, 56.3 per cent. The highest employment rates for both groups were seen among 40 to 49 year-olds.

Employment rate by age group and origin in 2011, preliminary data

Highest employment rates in Åland

There were differences in the employment rate by region. The highest employment rate for the entire population aged between 18 and 64 was seen in Åland (79.1 per cent), in Ostrobothnia (75.1 per cent) and in Uusimaa (74.3 per cent). The lowest employment rates were found in North Karelia (62.2 per cent), Lapland and Kainuu (63.1 per cent).

For persons of foreign origin, the employment rates were highest in Åland (72.9 per cent), South Ostrobothnia (59.9 per cent) and Satakunta (57.6 per cent). The difference between the employment rate of persons of foreign and Finnish origin was lowest in Åland: 7.2 percentage points. The high employment rate in Åland is explained by the fact that 44.7 per cent of persons of foreign origin aged 18 to 64 are of Swedish origin.Viewed by region, the biggest difference between the employment rate by origin was seen in Kymenlaakso: the employment rate of persons with foreign origin (43.1 per cent) was 23.6 percentage points lower than for persons of Finnish origin.

Source: Employment Statistics, Statistics Finland

Inquiries: Jaana Huhta 09 1734 2632, tyossakaynti@stat.fi

Director in charge: Jari Tarkoma

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Appendix tables

• Appendix table 1. Employment rate of persons aged 18 to 64 by region and origin in 2011 (preliminary data) (18.12.2012)

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Updated 18.12.2012