THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE in Finland fell by 0.5 percentage points to 8.0 per cent as the ranks of the unemployed thinned by 14,000 to 222,000 between April 2018 and April 2019, according to Statistics Finland.
The Finnish statistical institution reported yesterday that, adjusted for seasonal and random variation, the unemployment rate stood at 6.6 per cent in April.
The employment rate increased by 1.1 percentage points from the previous year to 71.2 per cent as the ranks of the employed grew by 28,000 to 2,520,000. The trend of the employment rate, meanwhile, stood at 72.4 per cent.
The number of people outside the labour force – or, the so-called inactive population – decreased by 12,000 year-on-year to 1,385,000, according to Statistics Finland. Less than one-tenth, or 108,000, of such people were in disguised unemployment, representing a drop of 6,000 from the previous year.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment on Thursday reported that the number of unemployed job seekers decreased by 25,000 year-on-year to slightly below 230,000 last month. Unemployment, it said, fell across all regions overseen by the Centres for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment (ELY Centres), particularly steeply in Southern Savonia, South-east Finland and Kainuu.
No significant change was detected in the number (12,000) of temporarily laid off people who had registered as job seekers at Employment and Economic Development Offices (TE Offices).
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
Source: Uusi Suomi
