Finland just hit 11.6% (April) unemployment, worst in over a decade.

cheers and good luck, guys. After a week in Germany, I’ve got more opportunities and even a job offer, more than I’ve had in the last few years in Finland ( lived there for 13 years), moving out was the best decision I’ve made in so long.

Translated article:

# “No signs of improvement,” says economist about employment figures

* Statistics Finland’s employment figures for April are a big disappointment: there are 48,000 more unemployed people than a year ago.
* Chief Economist Jukka Appelqvist and Economist Henna Busk see no signs of a turnaround for the better.
* According to Appelqvist, positive news about employment can be expected in the autumn at the earliest.

**The employment figures released by Statistics Finland** on Wednesday offer a cold shower to unemployed job seekers. Unemployment has not abated. According to [Jukka Appelqvist, Chief Economist of the Central Chamber of Commerce, ](https://www.hs.fi/haku/?query=Jukka%20Appelqvistin)there are no signs of improvement.

Compared to April last year, the number of job vacancies has decreased and the number of unemployed people has increased. The difficult situation affects job seekers of all ages.

* According to Statistics Finland’s labour force survey, there were 31,000 fewer employed people aged 15–74 in April 2026 than a year ago.
* There were 48,000 more unemployed people of the same age in April 2026 compared to a year ago.
* The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate, i.e. the share of unemployed people in the labor force, was 11.6 percent in April. A year earlier, it was exactly 10.
* There were 41,000 young unemployed job seekers under the age of 25, or 5,000 more than a year ago.

[Henna Busk, ](https://www.hs.fi/haku/?query=Henna%20Busk)senior economist at Pellervo Economic Research PTT, characterizes that “the positive expectations created by public debate about a turnaround in the economic situation for the better are not supported by employment figures.”

At the beginning of May, both Finance Minister [Riikka Purra ](https://www.hs.fi/haku/?query=Riikka%20Purra)(PS) and Prime Minister [Petteri Orpokki ](https://www.hs.fi/haku/?query=Petteri%20Orpokin)(Kok) [were glowing with ](https://www.hs.fi/politiikka/art-2000011999612.html)signs of emerging economic growth. These have included payment card data, which suggests that consumers are more enthusiastic about spending money than before. According to Purra, VAT collection has also been growing.

Positive investment news from individual companies has created hope among politicians during the spring. Some economic forecasts have also promised subtle signs of recovery in the Finnish economy.

**Appelqvist** points out that employment would only start to improve with a longer period of continuous growth. According to his assessment, positive news should be expected at least until the autumn.

Economists see the fact that the number of long-term unemployed is no longer increasing as much as before as a positive sign. However, that is a rather small consolation.

“Typically, long-term unemployment is concentrated closer to retirement age, but this time we have also seen a clear increase in long-term unemployment among younger age groups, which is particularly worrying from the perspective of later career development,” Appelqvist points out.

However, according to Busk, it is positive that the growth in youth unemployment has leveled off. The number of unemployment spells among recent graduates has not increased.

That’s surprising seen all the initiatives for economic growth and job creation…

How long will it take for the parties in the current Gov’t to blame this on the previous, I wonder?

Must be all of those immigrants? /s

That’s one explanation I’ve heard for the high unemployment in sweden lol. Is there any specific reason for this?

No but I was told our economy is all time high (because one company surged like hell) and everything is going to be better!! /s

omg, what’s happening in Finland? That’s a lot!