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Published: 26 March 2013

Unemployment rate 8.7 per cent in February

According to Statistics Finland’s Labour Force Survey, the number of unemployed persons in February 2013 was 231,000, which was 27,000 higher than one year ago. The unemployment rate was 8.7 per cent, having been 7.7 per cent in February of the year before. There were 26,000 fewer employed persons than in February of the previous year.

Unemployment rate and trend of unemployment rate 1989/02–2013/02

Unemployment rate and trend of unemployment rate 1989/02–2013/02

In February 2013, the number of employed persons was 2,432,000, which was 26,000 lower than a year earlier (margin of error ±31,000). The number of employed persons decreased in the private sector but grew in the public sector compared with February 2012. The number of self-employed persons decreased, whereas that of wage and salary earners stayed unchanged.

In February, the employment rate , that is, the proportion of the employed among persons aged 15 to 64, stood at 67.6 per cent, which was 0.4 percentage points lower than one year previously. The employment rate for men fell by 1.2 percentage points to 67.2 per cent. The employment rate for women went up by 0.4 percentage points and was 68.1 per cent. Adjusted for seasonal and random variation, the trend of the employment rate was 68.7 per cent.

According to the Labour Force Survey of Statistics Finland, there were 231,000 unemployed in February 2013, i.e. 27,000 more than in February of the year before (margin of error ± 17,000). The number of unemployed men was 132,000 and that of women 99,000.

At 8.7 per cent, the unemployment rate was one percentage point higher than one year earlier in February. Men’s unemployment rate was 9.7 per cent and women’s 7.6 per cent. The trend of the unemployment rate was 8.3 per cent.

In February, there were a total of 660,000 young people aged 15 to 24 . Of them, 235,000 were employed and 64,000 were unemployed. Thus the young labour force (employed and unemployed) totalled 300,000. 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 21.5 per cent, which was 0.9 percentage points higher than one year previously. The trend of the unemployment rate among young people was 19.7 per cent. The proportion of unemployed among the whole population of young people aged 15 to 24, was 9.7 per cent, so roughly every tenth young person was unemployed.

Changes in employment 2012/02–2013/02 according to Statistics Finland’s Labour Force Survey, population aged 15 to 74

  Year/Month Change
2012/02 2013/02 2012/02 - 2013/02
1000 persons Per cent, %
Population total 4 070 4 084 0,3
Active population total 2 662 2 663 0,0
Employed 2 458 2 432 –1,1
– employees 2 112 2 114 0,1
– self-employed persons and unpaid family workers 346 317 –8,3
Unemployed 204 231 13,4
Inactive population 1 408 1 421 0,9
  Per cent, % Percentage points
Employment rate, persons aged 15–64 68,0 67,6 –0,4
Unemployment rate 7,7 8,7 1,0
Activity rate 65,4 65,2 –0,2
Unrounded figures are used in the Change column.
The data comply with the ILO/EU definition.

Employment Service Statistics of the Ministry of Employment and the Economy

At the end of February 2013, there were altogether 291,000 persons registered in accordance with the Employment Office Regulations as job seekers at the employment and economic development offices . The number of unemployed job seekers was 37,000 higher than in February 2012.

Unemployment increased from the previous year's February in the areas of all Employment and Economic Development Centres; most in Varsinais-Suomi (21%), Pirkanmaa (20%), Uusimaa (19%) and Åland (21%). At the end of February, the number of temporarily laid off persons registered at the employment and economic development offices was 26,000, which was 5,000 more than twelve months earlier.

The number of persons engaged in services included in the activation stage totalled 104,000 at the end of February, which was 8,000 fewer than in February of the year before. Altogether 3.9 per cent of the labour force was covered by labour market policy services.

There were 38,000 unemployed job seekers aged under 25 registered at the employment and economic development offices. Their number was 6,000 higher than in February of the year before. During this February, 56,000 new vacancies were reported to the employment and economic development offices, which was 6,000 fewer than in February 2012.

Changes 2012/02–2013/02 according to the Employment Service Statistics of the Ministry of Employment and the Economy

  Year/Month Change
2012/02 2013/02 2012/02 - 2013/02
1000 persons Per cent, %
Unemployed job seekers 254 291 14,6
– unemployed over a year 59 67 14,2
Services, total 111 104 –7,0
– employed 32 28 –11,9
– in labour market training, in training 29 27 –6,6
– in trainee places, engaged in work/training trials 15 13 –10,0
– as a job alternation substitute, in rehabilitative work, in self-motivated studies (supported by unemployment benefit) 36 35 –1,9
New vacancies at employment and economic development offices 62 56 –10,2
Unrounded figures are used in the Change column.

Contact information for the Ministry of Employment and the Economy:
Petri Syvänen tel. +358 29 504 8050, http://www.tem.fi/employmentbulletin

Links

Labour Force Survey tables in databases

Differences between the Labour Force Survey and the Employment Service Statistics are explained in the quality description of the Labour Force Survey.

About seasonally adjusted trend

Comparison between the statistics of Statistics Finland and the Ministry of Employment and the Economy

Latest seasonally adjusted employment figures published by the EU can be found on Eurostat's home page http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu

Job vacancy survey


Source: Labour force survey 2013, February. Statistics Finland

Inquiries: Kalle Sinivuori 09 1734 3524, Ari Väisänen 09 1734 2290, Veli Rajaniemi 09 1734 3434, tyovoimatutkimus@stat.fi

Director in charge: Riitta Harala

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Appendix tables

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Updated 26.3.2013

Referencing instructions:

Official Statistics of Finland (OSF): Labour force survey [e-publication].
ISSN=1798-7857. February 2013. Helsinki: Statistics Finland [referred: 22.11.2024].
Access method: http://www.stat.fi/til/tyti/2013/02/tyti_2013_02_2013-03-26_tie_001_en.html