Summer saw unemployment taking steep rise in Helsinki

Unemployment figures among the under-25s increased by as much as 79% from last summer

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In the course of the summer, unemployment has increased rapidly in Helsinki. By the end of July there were 27,316 unemployed people in the Finnish capital, which indicates an increase of 31 per cent compared with a year before.
      In July alone, the unemployment figure grew by 7.9% from the previous month.
      At the end of July, Helsinki’s unemployment rate, including those dismissed temporarily, was 8.9 per cent.
     
Unexpectedly in recent weeks unemployment has also increased in the health care and social fields.
      “During the first part of the year, the unemployment figure did not grow at all in the health care and social sector”, explains head of research Jaakko Pesola from the Uusimaa Employment and Economic Development Centre (TE Centre). “There is still some demand for workforce in the branch, but it is dying down.”
      "The recession has hit Helsinki as well, regardless of how you measure it, whether by lines of business, by occupational groups, or by comparing with other areas”, says special analyst Petri Syvänen from the Ministry of Employment and the Economy.
     
The rate at which unemployment has recently grown in Helsinki is already among the highest in the country.
      Only the provinces of Pirkanmaa, Southern Ostrobothnia, Finland Proper, and the Province of Uusimaa as a whole did even worse.
      Before the summer, the service and commerce sectors were able to cope with unemployment better than manufacturing industry and the building trade. According to Syvänen, unemployment is now expected to rise in the service sector as well, because unemployment in the rest of the population reduces all demand.
      “Initially unemployment always hits the export industries, and now the multiplier effects start to show up elsewhere, as demand decreases.”
     
The growth of unemployment has been fastest among those under the age of 25.
      At the end of July, there were 3,046 young unemployed in the capital, which is 1,341 more than in July 2008. This translates to an increase of no less than 79 per cent.
      Among those over the age of 50, there were 7,275 unemployed individuals.
      The total number of those continuously unemployed for over a year was 3,334 in Helsinki, nearly 600 fewer than a year ago.
      According to Syvänen, this apparent anomaly is explained by the fact that the unemployment started rising only about six months ago. On the other hand, many of the long-term unemployed of last year have since either retired or entered into further training and education.
     
It is predicted that the unemployment figures will continue to rise at least until the first part of 2010.
      “For the employment situation to begin to improve, an increase of production is first needed. Only then will companies start hiring additional workers. At least for the time being, there are still no signs of an upswing on the production side in Finland."
      In the Province of Uusimaa, the numbers of the unemployed increased year on year by no less than 39 per cent.
      By the end of July there were around 65,500 unemployed persons in the area.
      In Uusimaa, unemployment has increased among all the occupational groups. Proportionately the construction and mining industries have been hit hardest, but unemployment figures have also grown within industry, transportation and traffic services, and in commerce.
     
At the end of July there were 6,462 available vacancies listed with the Helsinki Employment and Economic Development Office. This is 3.6 per cent fewer than a year earlier.
      At the same point, the neighbouring city of Vantaa had 10,000 unemployed individuals.
      The respective figures for the cities of Espoo and Kauniainen were nearly 9,300 and 199.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Government to borrow billions to avert mass unemployment (26.1.2009)

See also:
  Recession affects Greater Helsinki area much faster than expected (3.3.2009)

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