Finland sees highest bankruptcies in 25 years

A total of 345 bankruptcy proceedings were instigated in November 2023, which is 112 higher than the number in November one year ago, according to Statistics Finland.

In November, the number of staff-years in enterprises that filed for bankruptcy totalled 2,116, which is 30 staff-years fewer than in November 2022.

During the past 12 months, 3,293 enterprises have filed for bankruptcy, which is the highest number in 25 years.

The the number of bankruptcies has exceeded that of, for example, the financial crisis in 2009.

During the past 12 months, the number of bankruptcy applications surged by 25 percent compared to the corresponding period in the previous year, reported Xinhua, quoting a press release of the Statistics Finland.

"The number of bankruptcy applications has grown faster than at the time of the financial crisis in 2009. In other words, the number of bankruptcies is the highest in 25 years," Tommi Veistämö, chief actuary at Statistics Finland, said in the press release.

Veistämö added that the number of bankruptcies is still far from the levels seen during the great depression in the 1990s.

In 1992, for example, 7,391 bankruptcy applications were filed in Finland.

Statistics Finland pointed out that the number of bankruptcies is increasing in almost all industries in the country.

The number of bankruptcies in industry is now lower than during the financial crisis in 2009, but that in the construction industry is almost the same as it was in 2009, Veistämö said.

In November 2023, most bankruptcy proceedings were instigated in the industries of other services, construction and trade.

In the industry of other service activities, 127 bankruptcy proceedings were instigated, in construction 69 and in trade 61.

A total of 269 bankruptcy proceedings were instigated in October 2023, which is 53 more than in the corresponding period one year earlier.