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Published: 26 September 2017

Unemployment rate 7.5 per cent in August

According to Statistics Finland’s Labour Force Survey, the number of unemployed persons in August 2017 was 202,000, which was 7,000 higher than one year ago. The unemployment rate was 7.5 per cent, having been 7.2 per cent in August of the year before. There were 7,000 more employed than in August of the previous year. The number of persons in the inactive population was 5,000 lower than one year earlier.

Unemployment rate and trend of unemployment rate 2007/08–2017/08, persons aged 15–74

Unemployment rate and trend of unemployment rate 2007/08–2017/08, persons aged 15–74

In August 2017, the number of employed persons was 2,502,000 (margin of error ±33,000), which was 7,000 higher than a year earlier. There were 9,000 more employed men and 2,000 fewer employed women than in August 2016.

In August, the employment rate , that is, the proportion of the employed among persons aged 15 to 64, stood at 70.5 per cent, having been 69.9 per cent one year earlier. The employment rate for men rose by 0.7 percentage points from last year’s August to 72.0 per cent. Women's employment rate rose by 0.5 percentage points to 69.0 per cent. Adjusted for seasonal and random variation, the trend of the employment rate was 69.4 per cent.

According to Statistics Finland's Labour Force Survey, there were 202,000 unemployed (margin of error ±18,000) in August 2017, i.e. 7,000 more than one year earlier. The number of unemployed men was 97,000 and that of women 105,000.

At 7.5 per cent, the unemployment rate in August was 0.2 percentage points higher than one year earlier. Men’s unemployment rate was 6.9 per cent and women’s 8.1 per cent. The trend of the unemployment rate was 8.6 per cent.

In August, there were a total of 627,000 young people aged 15 to 24 . Of them, 289,000 were employed and 49,000 unemployed. The number of young people in the active population, i.e. the employed and unemployed in total, was 337,000. In August, the unemployment rate for young people aged 15 to 24, that is, the proportion of the unemployed among the labour force, stood at 14.4 per cent, which was 2.6 percentage points higher than one year previously. The trend of the unemployment rate among young people was 20.6 per cent. The share of unemployed young people aged 15 to 24 among the population of the same age was 7.8 per cent.

There were 1,412,000 persons in the inactive population in August 2017, which was 5,000 fewer than one year earlier. Of the inactive population, 140,000 persons were in disguised unemployment , which was 14,000 fewer than in August 2016.

Changes in employment 2016/08–2017/08 according to Statistics Finland’s Labour Force Survey, population aged 15 to 74

  Year/Month Change
2016/08 2017/08 2016/08 - 2017/08
1000 persons Per cent, %
Population total 4 107 4 116 0,2
Active population total 2 690 2 704 0,5
Employed 2 495 2 502 0,3
– employees 2 137 2 155 0,8
– self-employed persons and unpaid family workers 359 348 –3,2
Unemployed 195 202 3,7
Inactive population 1 417 1 412 –0,4
– persons in disguised unemployment 154 140 –8,9
  Per cent, % Percentage points
Employment rate, persons aged 15 to 64 69,9 70,5 0,6
Unemployment rate 7,2 7,5 0,2
Activity rate 65,5 65,7 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 Economic Affairs and Employment

At the end of August 2017, there were altogether 289,000 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 54,000 lower than in August 2016.

Unemployment fell in August from the corresponding period in 2016 in the areas of all Employment and Economic Development Centres: most in Pirkanmaa (–23%), Central Finland (–22%), Satakunta (–19%) and South Savo (–19%). At the end of August, the number of fully laid off persons registered at the employment and economic development offices was 9,000, which was 8,000 fewer than twelve months earlier.

The number of persons engaged in services included in the activation rate totalled 112,000 at the end of August, which was the same number as in August of the year before. Altogether, 4.2 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 10,000 lower than in last year's August. During this August, 51,000 new vacancies were reported to the employment and economic development offices, which was the same as in August 2016.

Changes 2016/08–2017/08 according to the Employment Service Statistics of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment

  Year/Month Change
2016/08 2017/08 2016/08 - 2017/08
1000 persons Per cent, %
Unemployed job seekers 343 289 –15,7
– unemployed over a year 128 102 –20,0
Services, total 113 112 –0,2
– employed 24 24 2,5
– in labour market training, in training 21 18 –12,5
– engaged in work/training trials 9 9 –2,7
– as a job alternation substitute, in rehabilitative work, self-motivated studies supported by unemployment benefit 59 61 3,3
New vacancies at employment and economic development offices 51 51 0,0
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, August. 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 26.9.2017

Referencing instructions:

Official Statistics of Finland (OSF): Labour force survey [e-publication].
ISSN=1798-7857. August 2017. Helsinki: Statistics Finland [referred: 28.12.2024].
Access method: http://www.stat.fi/til/tyti/2017/08/tyti_2017_08_2017-09-26_tie_001_en.html