The capital region has seen a gradual rise in the number of unemployed jobseekers, Uusimaa’s Centre for Employment and Economic Development (ELY) says in a press release.
In a press release, the authority noted there were 85,244 people registered as jobseekers in the region by the end of September, with 80,834 individuals lacking a contract entirely and 4,410 temporarily laid off.
This marks a 4.7 percent increase in overall unemployment and a 64.7 percent jump in temporary layoffs compared to the same period last year.
Nationally, unemployment figures are also trending upwards, with Finland seeing a 4 percent rise in unemployment and an almost 88 percent surge in layoffs compared to September 2022.
The construction sector is currently the sector most affected by redundancies.
“The situation appears challenging. We are not talking about catastrophic numbers, but there is clearly a trend towards a worsening job market,” researcher at the Uusimaa Employment and Economic Development Centre Niko Vähäkuopus told Yle.
Job vacancies also down
In addition to the rise in unemployment, job vacancies have dropped by nearly half.
In September, just 17,594 new job openings were reported to the TE unemployment office in Uusimaa, which is approximately 47 percent less than last year. Nationally, the number of new job listings has declined by 36.4 percent compared to 2022.
Vähäkuopus noted that the decline in job vacancies reflects the prevailing uncertainty in the Finnish labour market due to the uncertain economic outlook.
”The reluctance to hire is a reflection of this economic uncertainty,” he said.
Source : YLE