According to Statistics Finland’s latest figures, the coronavirus crisis has a significantly different effect on employment levels for men and women in Finland.
The number-breaking agency found that in October of this year, there were 35,000 fewer women at work than in the same month last year, while there were 9,000 more men at work this year.
The economic uncertainty created by the outbreak of the spring pandemic has led to declining employment levels in a number of industries. Sectors that traditionally hire more women, such as the service sector, suffer the most.
Statistics Finland reported that in October of this year, 26,000 fewer people were employed in Finland, while 34,000 more people were officially registered as jobseekers than in October 2019.
The employment rate was 71.7 per cent, up from 72 per cent a year earlier. 2.53 million people were employed, or less than half of the total population.
The unemployment rate is now 7.4 per cent, compared with 6.2 per cent in the corresponding period of the previous year, and 203,000 people are looking for work according to Statistics Finland’s calculation method.
Fewer new vacancies
At the same time, the Ministry of Economy and Labor (TEM) announced that at the end of October, 312,700 unemployed jobseekers had been registered with the employment office nationwide.
This figure is an increase of 88,000 compared to the previous year, but has decreased by 3,100 compared to the number of jobseekers reported in September.
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The ministry added that 53,000 new job vacancies were reported to TE offices in October, which is 12,100 less than in the corresponding month of the previous year.
The unemployment figures of Statistics Finland and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Labor differ because Statistics Finland’s criteria are stricter than those of the Ministry. Statistics Finland’s figures are based on sampling and are internationally comparable.
The ministry also does not measure the employment rate.
Source: The Nordic Page