BACKGROUND: EU jobless not flocking to Finland
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By Anna-Liina Kauhanen
Citizens of the European Union as well as others who have a permanent residence permit in some EU countries are entitled to seek work in another EU country for a period of three months without having to register.
The fact that an applicant does not need to register immediately makes it difficult to assess how many job applicants there actually are.
"At least there are no signs that there would be job seekers coming to Finland from crisis countries of Southern Europe", says Jarmo Palm of Finland’s Ministry of Employment and the Economy.
Last year there were 59,600 foreign job seekers representing 180 nationalities registered at Finland’s Employment and Economic Development Offices, which is 3,600 more than a year earlier.
Most of the job seekers were from neighbouring countries – 13,500 from Russia, 7,400 from Estonia, and 1,200 from Sweden.
Most of these probably have permanent residence permits in Finland and live in Finland on a permanent basis. Other large job applicant groups include Iraqis (3,500), Afghanis (1,600), and Iranians (1,400).
EU citizens who come to Finland for various reasons for more than three months are registered by the police.
Last year 4,599 had come for work, down from 5,906 who were registered last year.
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 12.8.2012
More on this subject:
 Many jobless in EU countries affected by financial crisis seeking work further north
Fifty nurses from Spain coming to Finland as dark autumn sets in
ANNA-LIINA KAUHANEN / Helsingin Sanomat
anna-liina.kauhanen@hs.fi
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