Unemployment rose sharply in June
The recovery of the labor market after the coronavirus crisis is taking time to arrive
According to the latest Employment Bulletin of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, a total of 416,900 unemployed jobseekers were registered at the Employment and Economic Development Offices at the end of June, showing a year-on-year increase of 162,700. However, the number of unemployed jobseekers was slightly down (by 15,800) from the previous month.
At the end of June, the number of people laid off was 137,600 in the whole country; a year-on-year increase of 122,800. The number of people fully laid off totalled 117,000, representing an increase of 107,400 from June the year before. The number of people fully laid off decreased by 41,200 from May.
The number of long-term unemployed — that is those who had been unemployed without interruption for more than a year — amounted to 75,200, up 11,400 on the previous year. The number of unemployed jobseekers aged over 50 was 134,600, representing an increase of 45,100 on the year before.
The number of unemployed jobseekers aged under 25 was 58,900, representing an increase of 23,600 from June last year.
New vacancies decreased
The number of new vacancies reported to Employment and Economic Development Offices during June totalled 47,700; down 4,800 from June a year earlier. In all, the number of unfilled vacancies amounted to 93,000, showing a decrease of 17,000 from the previous year.
At the end of June, the number of persons covered by services included in the activation rate amounted to 98,300, down 11,700 on the previous year. These services include pay subsidies, labour market training, work trials and self-motivated studies.
Unemployment rate 7.9%
According to the Labour Force Survey issued by Statistics Finland, in June the number of people in employment was 87,000 less than on the previous year. The employment rate was 73.7%, which was 2.1 percentage points lower than in June the year before.
According to the Survey, the unemployment total was 223,000, which is 47,000 more than a year ago. The unemployment rate was 7.9%, or 1.8 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.