Finland Times

The rate of unemployment has slightly downed in Finland in June this year compared to the corresponding period in the last year, according to Statistics Finland.

The number of unemployed people in the Nordic country was recorded to 217,000 in June which was 6,000 less than that of June 2012, the state-run statistic department said adding that the unemployment rate in the period was 7.8 per cent compared to 7.9 per cent in June of previous year.

The number of employed persons was almost unchanged, it said.

The unemployment rate in the second quarter, however, (April to June) was 9.1 per cent, which was 0.5 percentage points higher than in the respective quarter of 2012.

In June 2013, the number of employed persons was about 2,578,000 with a decrease of about 2,000 from the previous year.

The number of employed men and women had remained almost unchanged compared to June 2012. The number of self-employed decreased and the number of wage and salary earners increased compared to June in the year before.

The number of unemployed men was 115,000 while the rest were women.

In the second quarter of 2013, the average number of employed persons was 2,506,000, or 18,000 fewer than in the corresponding quarter of 2012. The number of employed persons grew most in retail trade and decreased in health care services.

Employment Service Statistics of the Ministry of Employment and the Economy said at the end of June 2013, there were altogether 302,000 persons registered as job seekers. The number of unemployed job seekers was 43,000 higher than in June 2012.

Earlier, a government report released in mid-May said that the rate of unemployment in the country will rise to 8.4 per cent this year and the situation would remain unchanged in 2014.

The Ministry of Employment and the Economy in an assessment report forecast the country’s unemployment situation for this year and the next saying that the economic outlook had taken a downturn since last autumn. 

The report said the employment rate was inching down but the downturn would continue for a long time.

 The situation may improve slightly over 2014, if the economy picks up, although it is difficult to forecast an exact time for the expected rebound, the report said, adding that unemployed jobseekers will be to the tune of 290,000 in 2013 and 286,000 in 2014.