Unemployment rate rises in Finland in 2025

The average number of employed persons aged 15 to 74 was 2,590,000 and that of unemployed persons 278,000 in 2025, according to Statistics Finland's Labour Force Survey.

There were 12,000 fewer employed and 39,000 more unemployed persons in last year than in the previous year.

For those aged 20 to 64, the employment rate was 76.0 per cent in 2025. The employment rate fell by 0.7 percentage points from 2024.

The employment rate of men fell from the previous year by 0.4 percentage points to 76.4 per cent and that of women fell by 1.0 percentage points to 75.6 per cent.

In 2025, the number of employed persons grew most in accommodation and food service activities, which had 6,000 more employed persons than in the previous year. The number of employed persons decreased most, by 10,000 persons, in wholesale and retail trade.

In 2025, the number of hours worked by employed persons was 4,020.0 million hours, which was 1.2 per cent lower than one year ago.

In 2025, the average number of unemployed persons was 278,000. The number of unemployed men was 152,000 and that of women 125,000.

The unemployment rate stood at 9.7 per cent, which was 1.3 percentage points higher than in 2024. The unemployment rate of men was 10.2 per cent while it was 9.2 per cent in 2024.

The unemployment rate of women was 9.1 per cent, having been 7.6 per cent in the year before.

In 2025, the number of employed persons working part-time was 493,000, which was 19.0 per cent of all employed persons. One year earlier, the corresponding share was 18.5 per cent.

The most common reason for part-time work was lack of full-time work, which was reported as the reason by 132,000 persons. In all, 128,000 worked part-time because of studies.