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Published: 24 October 2017

Unemployment rate 8.0 per cent in September

According to Statistics Finland’s Labour Force Survey, the number of unemployed persons in September 2017 was 214,000, which was 10,000 higher than one year ago. The unemployment rate was 8.0 per cent, having been 7.7 per cent in September of the year before. The number of employed persons was nearly the same as in September of the previous year. The unemployment rate was 7.7 per cent in the third quarter (July to September), having been 7.6 per cent one year before.

Unemployment rate and trend of unemployment rate 2007/09–2017/09, persons aged 15–74

Unemployment rate and trend of unemployment rate 2007/09–2017/09, persons aged 15–74

In September 2017, the number of employed persons was 2,461,000 (margin of error ±33,000), which was almost the same as one year earlier. There were 9,000 more employed men and 8,000 fewer employed women than in September 2016.

In September, the employment rate , that is, the proportion of the employed among persons aged 15 to 64, stood at 69.3 per cent, having been 69.2 per cent one year earlier. Men’s employment rate was 70.3 per cent and women’s 68.3 per cent. Adjusted for seasonal and random variation, the trend of the employment rate was 69.4 per cent.

According to Statistics Finland's Labour Force Survey, there were 214,000 unemployed  (margin of error ±18,000) in September 2017, i.e. 10,000 more than one year earlier. The number of unemployed men was 111,000 and that of women 102,000.

At 8.0 per cent, the unemployment rate in September was 0.3 percentage points higher than one year earlier. The unemployment rate of both men and women was 8.0 per cent. The trend of the unemployment rate was 8.7 per cent.

In September, there were a total of 626,000 young people aged 15 to 24 . Of them, 237,000 were employed and 48,000 unemployed. The number of young people in the active population, i.e. the employed and unemployed in total, was 286,000. In September, the unemployment rate for young people aged 15 to 24, that is, the proportion of the unemployed among the labour force, stood at 16.9 per cent, which was 0.5 percentage points higher than one year previously. The trend of the unemployment rate among young people was 20.5 per cent. The share of unemployed young people aged 15 to 24 among the population in the same age group was 7.7 per cent.

There were 1,442,000 persons in the inactive population in September 2017, which was 2,000 fewer than one year earlier. Of the inactive population, 155,000 persons were in disguised unemployment , which was 4,000 more than in September 2016.

Changes in employment 2016/09 – 2017/09 according to Statistics Finland’s Labour Force Survey, population aged 15 to 74

  Year/Month Change
2016/09 2017/09 2016/09 - 2017/09
1000 persons Per cent, %
Population total 4 108 4 117 0,2
Active population total 2 664 2 675 0,4
Employed 2 459 2 461 0,1
– employees 2 116 2 128 0,6
– self-employed persons and unpaid family workers 344 333 –3,2
Unemployed 204 214 4,8
Inactive population 1 445 1 442 –0,2
– Persons in disguised unemployment 152 155 2,4
  Per cent, % Percentage points
Employment rate, persons aged 15 to 64 69,2 69,3 0,1
Unemployment rate 7,7 8,0 0,3
Activity rate 64,8 65,0 0,1
Unrounded figures are used in the Change column.
The data comply with the ILO/EU definition.

Labour Force Survey data for the third quarter of 2017

In the third quarter of 2017, the average number of employed persons was 2,506,000, or 13,000 higher than in the corresponding quarter of 2016. The number of employed persons increased most in the industries of construction (F) and financial, insurance and real estate activities (K, L). Employment decreased most in the industries of wholesale and retail trade (G), and human health and social work activities (Q).

The number of hours worked by employed persons was almost the same in the third quarter of 2017 as twelve months previously.

The average number of unemployed persons in the third quarter of 2017 was 208,000, which was 4,000 more than in the July to September period of 2016. The rate of unemployment was 7.7 per cent in the third quarter of 2017, having been 7.6 per cent one year before.

In the third quarter of 2017, the number of persons in the inactive population was 1,402,000, which was 8,000 fewer than a year earlier. Of the inactive population, 142,000 persons were in disguised unemployment , which was 15,000 fewer than in the corresponding period of 2016.

Changes in employment 2016/III – 2017/III according to Statistics Finland’s Labour Force Survey, population aged 15 to 74

  Year/Quarter Change
2016/III 2017/III 2016/III - 2017/III
1000 persons Per cent (%)
Active population total 2 697 2 714 0,6
Employed persons total 2 493 2 506 0,5
Unemployed total 204 208 1,8
– men 104 105 1,3
– women 100 103 2,2
Inactive population 1 410 1 402 –0,6
– Persons in disguised unemployment 157 142 –9,3
Unrounded figures are used in the Change column.
The data comply with the ILO/EU definition.

Employment Service Statistics of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment

At the end of September 2017, there were altogether 276,000 persons registered in accordance with the Employment Office Regulations as unemployed job seekers at the employment and economic development offices. The number of unemployed job seekers was 54,000 lower than in last year's September.

Unemployment fell in September from the corresponding period in 2016 in the areas of all Employment and Economic Development Centres: most in Pirkanmaa (–24%), Central Finland (–23%) and Satakunta (–19%). At the end of September, the number of fully laid off persons registered at the employment and economic development offices was 9,000, which was 8,000 fewer than twelve months earlier.

The number of persons engaged in services included in the activation rate totalled 122,000 at the end of September, which was 3,000 fewer than in September of the previous year. Altogether, 4.5 per cent of the labour force was covered by labour market policy services.

There were 33,000 unemployed job seekers aged under 25 registered at the employment and economic development offices. Their number was 9,000 lower than in last year’s September. During this September, 50,000 new vacancies were reported to the employment and economic development offices, which was 3,000 more than in last year's September.

Changes 2016/09–2017/09 according to the Employment Service Statistics of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment

  Year/Month Change
2016/09 2017/09 2016/09 - 2017/09
1000 persons Per cent, %
Unemployed job seekers 329 276 –16,4
– unemployed over a year 125 98 –21,7
Services, total 124 122 –2,1
– employed 24 25 1,8
– in labour market training, in training 24 20 –15,3
– engaged in work/training trials 11 10 –6,7
– as a job alternation substitute, in rehabilitative work, self-motivated studies supported by unemployment benefit 65 66 2,2
New vacancies at employment and economic development offices 47 50 5,6
Unrounded figures are used in the Change column.

Contact information for the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment:
Petri Syvänen tel. +358 29 504 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 Economic Affairs and Employment

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 2017, September. Statistics Finland

Inquiries: Kirsi Toivonen 029 551 3535, Ulla Hannula 029 551 2924, tyovoimatutkimus@stat.fi

Director in charge: Jari Tarkoma

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Appendix tables

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Updated 24.10.2017

Referencing instructions:

Official Statistics of Finland (OSF): Labour force survey [e-publication].
ISSN=1798-7857. September 2017. Helsinki: Statistics Finland [referred: 29.3.2024].
Access method: http://www.stat.fi/til/tyti/2017/09/tyti_2017_09_2017-10-24_tie_001_en.html