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Published: 24 November 2015

Unemployment rate 8.7 per cent in October

According to Statistics Finland’s Labour Force Survey, the number of unemployed persons in October 2015 was 234,000, which was 14,000 higher than one year ago. The unemployment rate was 8.7 per cent, having been 8.3 per cent in October of the year before. There were 29,000 more employed than in October of the previous year. The number of persons in the inactive population was 35,000 lower than one year earlier.

Unemployment rate and trend of unemployment rate 2005/10–2015/10, persons aged 15–74

Unemployment rate and trend of unemployment rate 2005/10–2015/10, persons aged 15–74

In October 2015, the number of employed persons was 2,448,000, which was 29,000 higher than a year earlier (margin of error ±32,000). There were 27,000 more employed women and nearly as many employed men as in October 2014.

In October, the employment rate , that is, the proportion of the employed among persons aged 15 to 64, stood at 68.4 per cent, which was 0.8 percentage points higher than one year before. Women's employment rate rose by 1.7 percentage points to 68.7 per cent. Men's employment rate was 68.0 per cent and remained almost unchanged. Adjusted for seasonal and random variation, the trend of the employment rate was 68.7 per cent.

According to Statistics Finland's Labour Force Survey, there were 234,000 unemployed in October 2015, i.e. 14,000 more than one year earlier (margin of error ±18,000). The number of unemployed men was 124,000 and that of women 110,000. There were 9,000 fewer unemployed men and 23,000 more unemployed women compared with October 2014.

At 8.7 per cent, the unemployment rate in January was 0.4 percentage points higher than one year earlier. Men’s unemployment rate was 9.1 per cent and women’s 8.4 per cent. The trend of the unemployment rate was 9.3 per cent.

In October, there were a total of 642,000 young people aged 15 to 24 . Of them, 230,000 were employed and 50,000 were unemployed. Thus, the labour force of young people (employed and unemployed) totalled 279,000. In October, the unemployment rate for young people aged 15 to 24, that is, the proportion of the unemployed among the labour force, stood at 17.8 per cent, which was 1.0 percentage points lower than one year previously. The trend of the unemployment rate among young people was 21.1 per cent. The share of unemployed young people aged 15 to 24 among the population in the same age group was 7.8 per cent.

There were 1,424,000 persons in the inactive population in October 2015, which was 35,000 fewer than one year earlier. Of the inactive population, 165,000 persons were in disguised unemployment , which was 15,000 more than in October 2014.

Changes in employment 2014/10–2015/10 according to Statistics Finland’s Labour Force Survey, population aged 15 to 74

  Year/Month Change
2014/10 2015/10 2014/10 - 2015/10
1000 persons Per cent, %
Population total 4 099 4 106 0,2
Active population total 2 639 2 682 1,6
Employed 2 419 2 448 1,2
– employees 2 080 2 094 0,6
– self-employed persons and unpaid family workers 339 354 4,5
Unemployed 220 234 6,3
Inactive population 1 459 1 424 –2,4
– persons in disguised unemployment 150 165 10,1
  Per cent, % Percentage points
Employment rate, persons aged 15 to 64 67,6 68,4 0,8
Unemployment rate 8,3 8,7 0,4
Activity rate 64,4 65,3 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 October 2015, there were a total of 338,000 persons registered in accordance with the Employment Office Regulations as job seekers at the employment and economic development offices . The number of unemployed job seekers was 18,000 higher than in October 2014.

The number of unemployed job seekers increased in October from the corresponding period in 2014 in the areas of all Employment and Economic Development Centres apart from Kainuu (–7%): most in Uusimaa (12%), South Savo (8%), and North Savo (7%). At the end of October, the number of temporarily laid off persons registered at the employment and economic development offices was 22,000, which was 1,000 fewer than twelve months earlier.

The number of persons engaged in services included in the activation rate totalled 121,000 at the end of October, which was 9,000 fewer than in October of the previous year. Altogether, 4.5 per cent of the labour force was covered by labour market policy services.

There were 43,000 unemployed job seekers aged under 25 registered at the employment and economic development offices. Their number was 2,000 higher than in last year's October. During this October, 36,000 new vacancies were reported to the employment and economic development offices, which is 2,000 more than in October 2014.

Changes 2014/10–2015/10 according to the Employment Service Statistics of the Ministry of Employment and the Economy

  Year/Month Change
2014/10 2015/10 2014/10 - 2015/10
1000 persons Per cent, %
Unemployed job seekers 1) 320 338 5,6
– unemployed over a year 93 113 21,0
Services, total 130 121 –7,1
– employed 37 21 –43,9
– in labour market training, in training 29 26 –11,3
– engaged in work/training trials 12 13 12,6
– as a job alternation substitute, in rehabilitative work, self-motivated studies supported by unemployment benefit 52 60 17,3
New vacancies at employment and economic development offices 34 36 6,2
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 puh. 029 504 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 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 2015, October. Statistics Finland

Inquiries: Kirsi Toivonen 029 551 3535, Pertti Taskinen 029 551 2690, tyovoimatutkimus@stat.fi

Director in charge: Jari Tarkoma

Publication in pdf-format (451.5 kB)

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Appendix tables

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Quality descriptions

Updated 24.11.2015

Referencing instructions:

Official Statistics of Finland (OSF): Labour force survey [e-publication].
ISSN=1798-7857. October 2015. Helsinki: Statistics Finland [referred: 19.3.2024].
Access method: http://www.stat.fi/til/tyti/2015/10/tyti_2015_10_2015-11-24_tie_001_en.html