Number of unemployed jobseekers rises in March

The number of unemployed jobseekers totalled 286,100 at the end of March, according to the Employment Bulletin of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment published on Wednesday.

The number is 32,300 more than a year earlier and 3,500 fewer than in the previous month.

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, 159,800, or 19,000 more than in March a year ago, were customers of municipalities participating in the local government pilots on employment.

At the end of March, the number of people laid off was 44,400 persons; a year-on-year increase of 15,400.

The number of people fully laid off totalled 33,800, representing an increase of 10,800 from March the year before. The number of people fully laid off fell by 1,500 from February.

The number of long-term unemployed — that is those who had been unemployed without interruption for at least a year — amounted to 91,400, up 6,700 on the previous year.

The number of unemployed jobseekers aged over 50 was 101,200, representing an increase of 6,500 on the year before.

The number of unemployed jobseekers aged under 25 was 31,600, representing an increase of 5,200 from March last year.

Of the unemployment periods of youths, 54.4 per cent ended before reaching three months between January and March. This is 3.4 percentage points fewer than the year before.

The number of new vacancies reported during March totalled 55,900, or 39,300 fewer than in March the previous year. In all, the number of unfilled vacancies in March was 134,900, which is 68,400 fewer than a year ago.

At the end of March, the number of persons covered by services included in the activation rate amounted to 116,300, down 400 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 March the number of people in employment was 52,000 less than on the previous year. The trend of the employment rate was 72.7%, which was 1.3 percentage points lower than in March the year before.

According to the Survey, the unemployment total was 254,000, which is 61,000 more than a year ago. The trend of the unemployment rate was 8.1%, or 1.3 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.