Number of unemployed jobseekers rises in Nov

The number of unemployed jobseekers was 292,400 in Finland at the end of November and the number is 28,100 more than a year earlier and 7,300 more than in the previous month, according to the Employment Bulletin of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment published on Monday.

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, 167,200, or 20,100 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 37,300 persons; a year-on-year increase of 2,000.

The number of people fully laid off totalled 24,600, representing a decrease of 1,400 from November the year before. The number of people fully laid off grew by 2,900 from October.

The number of long-term unemployed — that is those who had been unemployed without interruption for at least a year — amounted to 102,600, up 13,400 on the previous year.

The number of unemployed jobseekers aged over 50 was 104,100, representing an increase of 8,000 on the year before.

The number of unemployed jobseekers aged under 25 was 32,100, representing an increase of 4,800 from November last year. Of the unemployment periods of youths, 56.4 per cent ended before reaching three months between January and November. This is 3.9 percentage points fewer than the year before.

Meanwhile, the number of new vacancies reported during November totalled 22,800, or 21,600 fewer than in November the previous year. In all, the number of unfilled vacancies in November was 44,400, which is 42,600 fewer than a year ago.

At the end of November, the number of persons covered by services included in the activation rate amounted to 105,100, down 11,800 on the previous year. These services include pay subsidies, labour market training, rehabilitative work and self-motivated studies.

According to the Labour Force Survey issued by Statistics Finland, in November the number of people in employment was 32,000 less than on the previous year.

The trend of the employment rate was 71.7%, which was 1.4 percentage points lower than in November the year before.

According to the Survey, the unemployment total was 226,000, which is 36,000 more than a year ago. The trend of the unemployment rate was 9.0%, or 1.4 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.