News of the week in plain Finnish | Saturday 23.5.2026

Unemployment and job vacancies

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Job vacancies decreased

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Although the number of jobs has decreased, it is difficult to find employees for some open positions. Photo: Jorge Gonzalez / Yle

This week’s topic is jobs and unemployment.

Job vacancies have continued to decrease.

Statistics Finland reports that there were 48,600 job vacancies at the beginning of the year. This was 15 percent fewer than at the same time last year.

The data describes the situation at the beginning of March.

The number of job vacancies in private companies decreased the most. In relative terms, the number of job vacancies decreased the most in government jobs.

51 percent of jobs were fixed-term and 20 percent were part-time.

Government’s goal far away

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At the beginning of the term, the government promised to create 100,000 new jobs during this term. Photo: Eetu-Mikko Pietarinen / Yle

Petteri Orpo’s government has promised 100,000 new jobs. Minister of Labor Matias Marttinen says that the goal has not been abandoned, even though the situation is difficult.

The Ministry of Employment and the Economy predicts that unemployment will remain high.

The unemployment rate is on average 10.2 percent this year. Next year it could drop to 9.8 percent.

The unemployment rate refers to the proportion of unemployed people among all working-age people.

The unemployment rate remains high because the labor force is growing. For example, more and longer working age people are working.

The forecast says that there will be 342,000 unemployed job seekers this year.

Studying for the unemployed might become easier

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The bill would make it easier for the unemployed to study without losing their unemployment benefits. Photo: Emmi Korhonen / Lehtikuva

The government proposes to make it easier for the unemployed to study.

People over 25 could study at an open university and still receive unemployment benefits.

An unemployed person may have lost their unemployment benefit if they have studied too much.

The legal change is intended to come into effect next autumn.

Disabled

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Among unemployed job seekers, there are many people who are actually unable to work. Some of them still have to look for work. Photo: Juha-Petri Koponen / Yle

Among unemployed job seekers, there are many people who are unable to work.

People with disabilities are congesting municipal employment services.

The city of Lahti has started an experiment in which it tries to remove disabled people from the pool of job seekers.

The doctor examines a person’s ability to work. After that, they try to get the disabled person to receive sickness benefit, rehabilitation support, or a disability pension.

Approximately one hundred long-term unemployed people will participate in the experiment.

Repetition

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Enough is enough! -demonstration in Tampere on April 20, 2026. Photo: Pekka Sipilä / Yle, Sanni Isomäki / Yle

Let’s repeat it again. Job vacancies have continued to decline, and unemployment remains high. The government proposes making it easier for the unemployed to study.

Here was the News of the Week in plain Finnish. Let’s hear it!