Number of unemployed jobseekers rises in Nov

The number of unemployed jobseekers at the end of November was 264,300, which is 29,500 more than a year earlier and 8,200 more than in the previous month, according to the Employment Bulletin of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment published on Friday.

The number of unemployed jobseekers includes the customers of Employment and Economic Development Offices and local government pilots on employment as well as people fully laid off.

Of the unemployed jobseekers, 147,200, or 17,900 more than in November a year ago, were customers of municipalities participating in the local government pilots on employment.

At the end of November, the number of people laid off was 35,300 persons; a year-on-year increase of 15,600. The number of people fully laid off totalled 26,000, representing an increase of 12,200 from November the year before. The number of people fully laid off grew by 4,800 from October.

The number of long-term unemployed — that is those who had been unemployed without interruption for at least a year — amounted to 89,200, up 3,100 on the previous year. The number of unemployed jobseekers aged over 50 was 96,100, representing an increase of 5,800 on the year before.

The number of unemployed jobseekers aged under 25 was 27,300, representing an increase of 4,100 from November last year. Of the unemployment periods of youths, 60.3 per cent ended before reaching three months between January and November. This is 1.9 percentage points fewer than the year before.

The number of new vacancies reported during November totalled 44,400, or 28,700 fewer than in November the previous year. In all, the number of unfilled vacancies in November was 87,000, which is 48,600 fewer than a year ago.

At the end of November, the number of persons covered by services included in the activation rate amounted to 116,900, down 700 on the previous year. These services include pay subsidies, labour market training, rehabilitative work and self-motivated studies.

Meanwhile, according to the Labour Force Survey issued by Statistics Finland, in November the number of people in employment was 23,000 less than on the previous year. The trend of the employment rate was 73.3%, which was 1.0 percentage points lower than in November the year before.

According to the Survey, the unemployment total was 190,000, which is 26,000 more than a year ago. The trend of the unemployment rate was 7.6%, or 0.8 percentage points higher than the previous year.

There are some key differences between Employment Service Statistics and the Labour Force Survey.

The Employment Service Statistics of the Ministry are compiled on the basis of the information in the customer register of the Employment and Economic Development Offices and local government pilots on employment, while the Labour Force Survey of Statistics Finland is based on sampling.