Unemployment rate reduces slightly in March

The number of unemployed persons in the country in March 2017 was 260,000, which was 14,000 less than one year ago, according to Statistics Finland’s Labour Force Survey.

The unemployment rate was 9.3 per cent in the first quarter (January to March), having been 9.6 per cent in the respective quarter of 2016. There were 19,000 more employed than in March of the previous year.

In March 2017, the number of employed persons was 2,439,000 (margin of error ±33,000), which was 19,000 more than a year earlier. There were 7,000 less employed men and 26,000 more employed women than in March 2016.

In March, the employment rate, that is, the proportion of the employed among persons aged 15 to 64, stood at 68.8 per cent, having been 68.0 per cent one year earlier. From last year’s March, men’s employment rate fell by 0.2 percentage points to 69.1 per cent and women’s increased by 1.9 percentage points to 68.5 per cent. Adjusted for seasonal and random variation, the trend of the employment rate was 69.2 per cent.

According to Statistics Finland's Labour Force Survey, there were 260,000 (margin of error ±19,000) unemployed in March 2017, i.e. 14,000 fewer than one year earlier. The number of unemployed men was 149,000 and that of women 111,000.

At 9.6 per cent, the unemployment rate was 0.5 percentage points lower in March than one year earlier. Men’s unemployment rate was 10.7 per cent and women’s 8.5 per cent. The trend of the unemployment rate was 8.7 per cent.

In March, there were a total of 632,000 young people aged 15 to 24. Of them, 243,000 were employed and 76,000 were unemployed. The number of young people in the active population, i.e. the employed and unemployed in total, was 320,000. In March, the unemployment rate for young people aged 15 to 24, that is, the proportion of the unemployed among the labour force, stood at 23.9 per cent, which was almost the same as in the previous year. The trend of the unemployment rate among young people was 20.0 per cent. The share of unemployed young people aged 15 to 24 among the population in the same age group was 12.1 per cent.

There were 1,410,000 persons in the inactive population in March 2017, which was 6,000 fewer than one year earlier. Of the inactive population, 125,000 persons were in disguised unemployment, which was slightly less than in March 2016.

In the first quarter of 2017, the average number of employed persons was 2,407,000, or 11,000 higher than in the corresponding quarter of 2016. The number of employed persons increased most in professional, scientific and technical activities (M).

The number of hours worked by employed persons was 4.9 per cent higher in the first quarter of 2017 than the corresponding period of the previous year. There were three working days more in the first quarter of 2017 compared to the January to March period in 2016.

The average number of unemployed persons in the first quarter of 2017 was 248,000, which was 7,000 fewer than in the January to March period of 2016.

In the first quarter of 2017, the number of persons in the inactive population was 1,454,000, which was 5,000 fewer than a year earlier. Of the inactive population, 149,000 persons were in disguised unemployment, which was 5,000 fewer than in the corresponding period of 2016.

At the end of March 2017, there were altogether 317,000 persons registered in accordance with the Employment Office Regulations as unemployed job seekers at the employment and economic development offices. The number of unemployed job seekers was 34,000 lower than in March 2016.

Unemployment fell in March from the corresponding period in 2016 in the areas of all Employment and Economic Development Centres: most in Kainuu (–17%), Pirkanmaa (–16%), South Ostrobothnia (–14%), and Central Finland (–13%). At the end of March, the number of temporarily laid off persons registered at the employment and economic development offices was 20,000, which was 8,000 fewer than twelve months earlier.

The number of persons engaged in services included in the activation rate totalled 127,000 at the end of March, which was 3,000 more than in March of the year before. Altogether, 4.7 per cent of the labour force was covered by labour market policy services.

There were 39,000 unemployed job seekers aged under 25 registered at the employment and economic development offices. Their number was 6,000 lower than in last year’s March. During this March, 60,000 new vacancies were reported to the employment and economic development offices, which was 8,000 more than in March 2016.