41,000 more unemployed than a year ago in Finland

The number of unemployed has not stopped growing during the last year in Finland, as shown by official figures, which reflect the effects of the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

According to Statistics Finland's Labour Force Survey, in January 2021 there were 235,000 unemployed, which is 41,000 more than one year earlier. The number of unemployed men was 132,000 and that of women 103,000.

The unemployment rate was 8.7% in January, having been 7.1% in the same month last year. The unemployment rate for men grew by 1.9 percentage points from last year’s January to 9.4%. Women's unemployment rate rose by 1.2 percentage points to 7.9%.

Source: Statistics Finland

Employment declining

Official data shows that in January the number of employed persons was 2,473,000, which was 61,000 lower than a year earlier. There were 30,000 fewer employed men and 31,000 fewer employed women than 12 months earlier.

The employment rate, that is, the proportion of the employed among persons aged 15 to 64, stood at 69.9%, having been 71.9% one year earlier. The employment rate of men aged 15 to 64 fell by 1.8 percentage points to 70.2% and that of women fell by 2.2 percentage points to 69.6%.

There were 1,420,000 persons in the inactive population in January 2021, which was 15,000 more than one year earlier.