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Finland’s Unemployment Worsening

Finland’s Unemployment Worsening
Finland’s Unemployment Worsening

The unemployment rate in Finland could rise to 9.5% this year. According to a fresh forecast by the Finland Ministry of Employment and Economy, growing numbers of out of work people are falling into the category of the long-term unemployed.

The ministry’s forecast sees joblessness in Finland worsening during the remainder of this year and into 2016, NewsNow reported.

According to the advisory issued Monday, employment in even the service sector has slowed and the number of unemployed jobseekers is approaching a record high since the year 2000. This year they will number 355,000 on average and will climb to 370,000 next year. In its last publication of labor market data, Statistics Finland put the number of jobless people looking for work in  September at 225,000, compared to the ministry’s 337,000 for the same period.

The employment rate came in at 59.8% in September, down from 60.2% in the prior month. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the unemployment rate dropped marginally to 9.3% in September from August's stable rate of 9.4%. The youth jobless rate also fell to 22.1% from 22.4% a month ago.

Data from both bodies differ because the ministry pulls its figures from actual jobseekers registered with local employment offices, while Statistics Finland bases its findings on statistical samples.

The ministry said that the growth of employment figures this year would be negative or close to zero in all job sectors. The labor market forecast further predicted that unemployment this year would rise to 9.5%.

The ministry’s review indicated that the unemployment rate would continue to rise this year and that the trend would continue into next year. Senior civil servant Johanna Alatalo also noted that economic growth would not be robust enough to promote employment next year either.

According to the outlook, growing numbers of jobseekers can be classified as the long term unemployed. This year some 110,000 people were considered to be among the long term unemployment, while the number is forecast to grow to 130,000 next year. The ministry pointed out that nowadays this group no longer includes only the elderly and the poorly educated.

 

Financialtribune.com