Unemployment rate drops slightly in May

The number of unemployed persons in the country was 297,000 in May, 2017, which was nearly the same as one year ago, according to Statistics Finland’s Labour Force Survey.

The unemployment rate was 10.7 per cent, having been 10.8 per cent in May of the year before. There were 16,000 more employed than in May of the previous year. The number of persons in the inactive population was 13,000 lower than one year earlier.

In May 2017, the number of employed persons was 2,465,000, which was 16,000 higher than a year earlier. There were 18,000 more employed men and 3,000 fewer employed women than in May 2016.

In May 2016, the employment rate, that is, the proportion of the employed among persons aged 15 to 64, stood at 69.4 per cent, having been 68.6 per cent one year earlier.