Finland Times

 

Change in the proportion of the unemployed ¹ in 2003 to 2013*, year 2003=100. Source: Employment Statistics, Statistics Finland.

Unemployment among persons with at least lowest level tertiary qualification has increased more than among other levels of education over the past ten years.

 

For persons with lowest level tertiary qualifications or lower university degrees, the unemployment increased by 29 per cent, and for persons with higher university or doctorate level degrees, by 31 per cent compared to 2012, according to Statistics Finland’s Employment Statistics for 2013. 

 

The proportion of the highly educated unemployed among the labour force has grown most in the fields of natural sciences and technology.

 

For people with tertiary level qualifications, unemployment was most common in 2013 in the field of humanities and arts.

 

The proportion of the unemployed among the labour force aged 18 to 64 decreased for all levels of education.

 

Proportion of the unemployed among the working-age population with tertiary level degrees compared to the entire labour force of the same age in 2003 to 2013*, %. Source: Employment Statistics, Statistics Finland.

Since 2012, the proportion of the unemployed among the labour force grew for all levels of education, most for the highly educated—both higher and lower university degrees.

 

At the end of 2013, there were 328,000 unemployed persons of working-age, which was nearly 47,000 more than one year earlier, according to the statistics derived from the Register of Job Seekers of the Ministry of Employment and the Economy.  

 

Despite the increase in unemployment for persons with tertiary level qualifications, their share of all unemployed persons of working-age is around one-fifth, while their share of employed persons is 41 per cent.

 

Examined by field of education, the proportion of the unemployed among the labour force for persons with tertiary level qualifications was highest in the field of humanities and arts (11.0%) and lowest in the field of health and welfare (2.8%) in 2013, the preliminary data show.