The restrictions caused by the coronavirus pandemic have taken a toll on employment. According to the latest figures from the Employment Bulletin of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, the number of job seekers almost doubled in April.
The data shows that at the end of April there were a total of 433,100 unemployed jobseekers registered at the Employment and Economic Development Offices, showing a year-on-year increase of 203,400 (+85%). One year before, there were 229,700.
Compared to the previous month (March), the number of unemployed jobseekers increased by 124,000.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment says this rapid increase in the number of unemployed and particularly in the number of full-time layoffs was due to restrictions caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
At the end of April, the number of people laid off was 184,000 in the whole country; a year-on-year increase of 166,600. The number of people fully laid off totaled 163,700, representing an increase of 152,100 from April the year before.
The number of long-term unemployed — that is those who had been unemployed without interruption for more than a year — amounted to 67,400, up 4,300 on the previous year. The number of unemployed jobseekers aged over 50 was 141,500, representing an increase of 53,900 on the year before.
The number of unemployed aged under 25 was 56,300, representing an increase of 27,800 from April last year.
Less new vacancies
The number of new vacancies reported to Employment and Economic Development Offices during April totaled 50,100; down 18,700 from April a year earlier.
In all, the total number of unfilled vacancies amounted to 113,300 in April; a decrease of 31,400 from the previous year.
At the end of April, the number of persons covered by services included in the activation rate amounted to 111,000, down 18,800 on the previous year. These services include pay subsidies, labour market training, work trials and self-motivated studies.
Unemployment rate 8.1%
According to the Labour Force Survey issued by Statistics Finland, in April the number of people employed was 56,000 less than on the previous year. The employment rate was 70.1%, which was 1.1 percentage points lower than in April the year before.
According to the Survey, the unemployment total was 217,000, which is 2,000 less than a year ago. The unemployment rate was 8.1%, or 0.1 percentage points higher than the previous year.
This information is based on the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment’s Employment Service Statistics and the Labour Force Survey of Statistics Finland. The Employment Service Statistics of the Ministry are compiled on the basis of the information in the Employment and Economic Development Offices’ customer register, while the Labour Force Survey of Statistics Finland is based on sampling.
In the Ministry’s Statistics, people that are not in an employment relationship or employed in business (including lay offs) are listed as unemployed. For the Force Survey of Statistics Finland, people are unemployed if they have actively sought employment during the preceding four weeks and are available for work over the coming two weeks.
