Female employees outnumber male workers

Unemployment rate reaches 9 per cent

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Women today outnumber men at work in Finland. The unforeseen situation was created when the employment of men declined and unemployment among men grew in November considerably more than that among women workers.
     
According to Statistics Finland, the employment rate of working-age women fit for work stood at some 67 per cent in November, while the proportion of the employed among working-age men was 66.9 per cent. The figures started to approach each other already late last summer, but finally women rose from a minority position to the majority in November.
      The difference is subtle and may be reversed already in the next statistics.
     
The reason for the situation is the recession. The present slump has hit traditional male professions in particular, such as construction and the metal industry. So far, traditional female jobs in the commercial as well as social and healthcare sectors have not been affected so much.
      Intrinsically, the matter is not significant, as the unfortunate fact is that the unemployment rate of both male and female employees grew again in November.
      According to Statistics Finland, the number of unemployed persons in November 2009 was 63,000 higher than in the corresponding period a year ago.
     
Adjusted for seasonal variation, the unemployment rate is today precisely 9 per cent.
      In the course of the past 12 months, the number of employed persons has declined more than the proportion of the unemployed has grown, Statistics Finland reports. In November the number of employed persons was around 100,000 lower than at the same time in 2008.
      The figures indicate that quite a large number of working-age persons have been laid off temporarily. Moreover, many have retired having seized the pension packages offered by their employers, while no new employees have been taken on to replace them.
     
The highest rise of all was seen in the unemployment rate among young people aged 15 to 24. In November, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of this age group was already 22.3 per cent.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Women soon to outnumber men at work (6.10.2009)

See also:
  Nearly half of Finnish employees have female bosses (9.11.2009)

Links:
  Statistics Finland

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