A customer at the Helsinki Employment Service Center in the Pasila TE Office. LEHTIKUVA
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While unemployment rates across the European Union have remained stable and even improved in recent years, Finland stands out as an exception, with unemployment climbing at an alarming rate. According to a recent analysis by Pertti Taskinen, an expert from Statistics Finland, Finland’s unemployment has risen faster than nearly any other EU country, surpassed only by Lithuania.
The employment rate for individuals aged 20 to 64 in the EU reached an average of 75.7% in the first quarter of 2024.
This marks a continued, albeit slower, recovery since the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite this positive trend across the continent, Finland’s unemployment rate tells a different story.
Data up to June 2024 reveals that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for people aged 15 to 74 has remained steady at around 6.0–6.1% across the EU for the past two years. However, Finland’s unemployment rate has surged, now standing as the third highest in the EU at over 10%, behind only Spain (11.5%) and Greece.
“Finland’s unemployment rate has increased more rapidly than in any other EU country except Lithuania,” Taskinen wrote in his article for Tieto&trendit. “This upward trend is a stark contrast to the broader EU, where unemployment has largely stabilized.”
Taskinen also highlighted a troubling disparity in long-term unemployment. While the number of long-term unemployed individuals across the EU has decreased from 5.5 million to 4.5 million over the past two years, Finland has seen little change in this area, with the number of long-term unemployed remaining relatively stable.
The report underscores the need for urgent policy measures to address the growing unemployment crisis in Finland, particularly as other EU nations continue to see improvements. Without intervention, Finland risks further divergence from the positive economic trends seen across Europe.
HT
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Source: www.helsinkitimes.fi
