Employment in Finland is expected to continue to grow until the end of 2024, according to a labour market forecast published on Wednesday by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment.
The report estimated that the employment rate will rise to 73.7 percent in 2022, 74.1 percent in 2023 before reaching 74.3 percent in 2024.
In its plan for government, the current administration aimed to raise Finland's employment rate to 75 percent by the middle of the 2020s.
The ministry's report further found that the employment rate among older workers has increased strongly, with a notable decline in the number of long-term unemployed.
The ministry's Under-Secretary of State Elina Pylkkänen said in a statement that although Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine has caused uncertainty in the Finnish economy, employment is still expected to grow.
"Although the economic forecast has had to be halved due to the war, robust employment growth will continue. I am particularly pleased about the decrease in long-term unemployment. It will have positive long-term effects on Finland’s dependency ratio and the sustainability of general government finances," Pylkkänen said, also noting that the unemployment rate is likely to drop below six percent before 2024.
In particular, youth joblessness is expected to drop this year to the lowest level since the global financial crisis of 2008 and by 2024 is expected to be lower than at any time since the recession of the 1990s.
However, this is also due to the fact that there are currently fewer young people living in Finland compared to the early 1990s.
"A large number of employees retire every year and a younger workforce is needed to replace them," Pylkkänen said.
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