Employment rate raises by 2 % last year

The employment rate for the population aged 15 to 64 was 71.7 per cent in 2018, according to Statistics Finland.

Men’s employment rate was 72.7 per cent, which was 2.0 percent higher compared to the rate in 2017 while women’s employment rate was 70.6 per cent, which was 2.1 percentage higher than 2017.

In 2018, the average number of employed persons aged 15 to 74 in Finland was 2,540,000, which was 67,000 more than in 2017. There were 35,000 more employed men and 32,000 more employed women than in 2017. The number of employees grew by 57,000 and that of self-employed persons by 9,000. The employment rate grew in all age groups and the number of employed persons grew in almost all main industries.

In 2018, the average number of unemployed persons was 202,000, which is 32,000 fewer than in the previous year. The unemployment rate among persons aged 15 to 74 was, on average, 7.4 per cent in 2018, having been 8.6 per cent in 2017. The unemployment rate of men fell to 7.4 per cent and that of women to 7.3 per cent.

The number of persons in disguised unemployment decreased by 15,000 from 2017. In 2018, there were 128,000 working-age persons aged 15 to 74 classified as being in disguised unemployment, who would and could have accepted work, but had not looked for it actively.

In 2018, the number of employees in full-time work was 44,000 higher and that of employees working part-time was 13,000 higher than in 2017. The share of employees working part-time was highest in retail trade (excl. motor vehicle trade). Forty-two per cent of all employees in the industry worked part-time.

In 2018, there were 1,382,000 persons in the inactive population, i.e. 34 per cent of persons aged 15 to 74. The number was 24,000 lower than in 2017. The number of persons in the inactive population decreased most in the 55 to 64 age group, by 19,000 persons.