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Published: 22 March 2016

Unemployment rate 9.4 per cent in February

According to Statistics Finland’s Labour Force Survey, the number of unemployed persons in February 2016 was 248,000, which was 20,000 fewer than one year ago. The unemployment rate was 9.4 per cent, having been 10.1 per cent in February of the year before. There were 10,000 fewer employed than in February of the previous year. The number of persons in the inactive population was 39,000 higher than one year earlier.

Unemployment rate and trend of unemployment rate 2006/02–2016/02, persons aged 15–74

Unemployment rate and trend of unemployment rate 2006/02–2016/02, persons aged 15–74

In February 2016, the number of employed persons was 2,382,000 (margin of error ±32,000), which was 10,000 lower than a year earlier. There were 2,000 fewer employed men and 8,000 fewer employed women than in February 2015.

In February 2016, the employment rate , that is, the proportion of the employed among persons aged 15 to 64, stood at 66.7 per cent, having been 66.6 per cent one year earlier. The employment rate for men grew by 0.2 percentage points from last year’s February to 66.9 per cent. The employment rate for women fell by 0.2 percentage points to 66.4 per cent. Adjusted for seasonal and random variation, the trend of the employment rate was 68.2 per cent.

According to Statistics Finland's Labour Force Survey, there were 248,000 unemployed in February 2016 (margin of error ±18,000), i.e. 20,000 fewer than in February of the year before. The number of unemployed men was 140,000 and that of women 107,000.

At 9.4 per cent, the unemployment rate in February was 0.7 percentage points lower than one year earlier. Men’s unemployment rate was 10.4 per cent and women’s 8.4 per cent. The trend of the unemployment rate was 9.2 per cent.

In February, there were a total of 639,000 young people aged 15 to 24 . Of them, 220,000 were employed and 70,000 unemployed. The number of young people in the active population, i.e. the employed and unemployed in total, was 290,000. 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 24.1 per cent, which was 1.4 percentage points lower than one year previously. The trend of the unemployment rate among young people was 21.5 per cent. The share of unemployed young people aged 15 to 24 among the population in the same age group was 10.9 per cent.

There were 1,480,000 persons in the inactive population in February 2016, which was 39,000 more than one year earlier. Of the inactive population, 156,000 persons were in disguised unemployment , which was 35,000 more than in February 2015.

Changes in employment 2015/02–2016/02 according to Statistics Finland’s Labour Force Survey, population aged 15 to 74

  Year/Month Change
2015/02 2016/02 2015/02 - 2016/02
1000 persons Per cent, %
Population total 4 101 4 110 0,2
Active population total 2 660 2 630 –1,1
Employed 2 392 2 382 –0,4
– employees 2 062 2 043 –1,0
– self-employed persons and unpaid family workers 330 340 2,9
Unemployed 268 248 –7,6
Inactive population 1 441 1 480 2,7
– persons in disguised unemployment 121 156 29,0
  Per cent, % Percentage points
Employment rate, persons aged 15 to 64 66,6 66,7 0,0
Unemployment rate 10,1 9,4 –0,7
Activity rate 64,9 64,0 –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 Employment and the Economy

At the end of February 2016, there were altogether 361,000 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 6,000 higher than in February 2015.

Unemployment fell in February from the corresponding period in 2015 in the areas of six Employment and Economic Development Centres: most in Kainuu (–5%), Central Finland (–4%), and Häme (–3%). In the areas of all other Employment and Economic Development Centres, unemployment increased: most in Uusimaa (6%), Ostrobothnia (6%), Southeast Finland (3%), and North Karelia (3%). At the end of February, the number of temporarily laid off persons registered at the employment and economic development offices was 30,000, which was 4,000 fewer than twelve months earlier.

The number of persons engaged in services included in the activation rate totalled 119,000 at the end of February, which was 7,000 fewer than in February of the year before. Altogether, 4.5 per cent of the labour force was covered by labour market policy services.

There were 46,000 unemployed job seekers aged under 25 registered at the employment and economic development offices. Their number was almost the same as in last year's February. During this February, 60,000 new vacancies were reported to the employment and economic development offices, which is 4,000 more than in February 2015.

Changes 2015/02–2016/02 according to the Employment Service Statistics of the Ministry of Employment and the Economy

  Year/Month Change
2015/02 2016/02 2015/02 - 2016/02
1000 persons Per cent, %
Unemployed job seekers 1) 355 361 1,6
– unemployed over a year 103 122 19,0
Services, total 126 119 –5,3
– employed 33 19 –40,5
– in labour market training, in training 27 24 –12,9
– engaged in work/training trials 12 13 7,8
– as a job alternation substitute, in rehabilitative work, self-motivated studies supported by unemployment benefit 53 63 17,2
New vacancies at employment and economic development offices 56 60 6,3
Unrounded figures are used in the Change column.
1) The law reform that entered into force at the beginning of 2013 and the change in the lay-off procedure on 1 July increase the number of unemployed job seekers somewhat.

Links: Law reform 1 January 2013
Change in the lay-off procedure 1 July 2013

Contact information for the Ministry of Employment and the Economy:
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 Employment and the Economy

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

Job vacancies

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 2016, February. Statistics Finland

Inquiries: Kirsi Toivonen 029 551 3535, Joanna Viinikka 029 551 3796, tyovoimatutkimus@stat.fi

Director in charge: Jari Tarkoma

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Updated 22.03.2016

Referencing instructions:

Official Statistics of Finland (OSF): Labour force survey [e-publication].
ISSN=1798-7857. February 2016. Helsinki: Statistics Finland [referred: 28.12.2024].
Access method: http://www.stat.fi/til/tyti/2016/02/tyti_2016_02_2016-03-22_tie_001_en.html