Number of unemployed jobseekers rises in Feb

The number of unemployed jobseekers was 289,700 at the end of February, according to the Employment Bulletin of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment published on Tuesday.

The number is 31,600 more than a year earlier and 1,500 fewer than in the previous month.

The number of unemployed jobseekers included 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, 160,400, or 19,600 more than in February a year ago, were customers of municipalities participating in the local government pilots on employment.

At the end of February, the number of people laid off was 45,700 persons; a year-on-year increase of 15,200. The number of people fully laid off totalled 35,300, representing an increase of 11,100 from February the year before. The number of people fully laid off increased by 300 from January.

The number of long-term unemployed — that is those who had been unemployed without interruption for at least a year — amounted to 92,200, up 7,000 on the previous year. The number of unemployed jobseekers aged over 50 was 102,200, representing an increase of 6,500 on the year before.

The number of unemployed jobseekers aged under 25 was 32,000, representing an increase of 5,000 from February last year. Of the unemployment periods of youths, 53.2 per cent ended before reaching three months between January and February. This is 2.7 percentage points fewer than the year before.

The number of new vacancies reported during February totalled 66,700, or 25,200 fewer than in February the previous year. In all, the number of unfilled vacancies in February was 151,400, which is 46,900 fewer than a year ago.

At the end of February, the number of persons covered by services included in the activation rate amounted to 113,600, down 500 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 February the number of people in employment was 11,000 more than on the previous year. The trend of the employment rate was 73.2%, which was 0.8 percentage points lower than in February the year before.

According to the Survey, the unemployment total was 220,000, which is 34,000 more than a year ago. The trend of the unemployment rate was 7.7%, 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.