Employment improves in Finland, but recovery remains fragile

Unemployment in Finland has eased slightly from its spring peak, while the number of employed people is higher than a year ago, Yle reports based on figures released by Statistics Finland.

The data cover the situation in August. Chief economist Jukka Appelqvist of the Central Chamber of Commerce said the direction was finally right, but warned that the improvement remained fragile and demand in the labour market was still fairly weak.

The unemployment rate remained high at 10.1 per cent. The number of open positions also remained low.

The number of employed people rose by 34,000 in August. Almost all those who found work were men, while the employment situation for women changed little from a year earlier. Much of the improvement came from part-time jobs.

Appelqvist said businesses would first increase the workload of existing employees before hiring more full-time staff.

The number of self-employed people also rose sharply, by 18,000 in August. Liisa Larja, a special adviser at the Ministry of Employment and the Economy, said the amount of work carried out by new entrepreneurs could vary considerably. Although the number of people was high, the total amount of work had increased only slightly, she said.

Appelqvist noted that the figures describe the situation in August, when companies typically hire fewer new employees because of the summer holiday period. Developments in employment and unemployment during the autumn and toward the end of the year will show how lasting the improvement is.