Finland’s largest employment district leader admits services fail to boost jobs

Finland’s public employment services are failing to help jobseekers due to excessive bureaucracy, according to Regina Saari, director of the country’s largest employment district covering the Tampere region, Yle reports.

Saari said statutory obligations force staff to spend time on administrative tasks instead of assisting jobseekers and employers. “Job placement should be our core work, not entering data into national systems that does nothing to improve employment,” she told the broadcaster.

The current Nordic public employment service model, introduced in Finland in 2022, imposes rigid deadlines and processes. For example, jobseekers must attend an initial interview within ten days of registering, submit a monthly job search plan, and apply for at least four jobs per month—requirements Saari called “pointless” given the high volume of applications for public listings.

Petra Kreekka, an unemployed resident of Tampere, told Yle she had received no meaningful support beyond mandatory plan updates. “The system doesn’t help me find work,” she said, adding that even as a former employment services employee, she saw how jobseekers often viewed the services as unhelpful.

Minna van Gerven, a social policy professor at the University of Helsinki, agreed that municipalities lack flexibility under current laws. “The legislation literally dictates how services must be organised,” she said, noting that financial penalties for long-term unemployment further strain local budgets.

Employment Minister Matias Marttinen acknowledged the criticism and said the government is open to legislative changes.