Finland’s unemployment rate increased to 12.7% in May 2026 from 10.5% in the same month a year earlier, marking its highest level since May 1998. The number of unemployed climbed by 68,000 year-on-year to 376,000, comprising 203,000 men and 173,000 women. By gender, male unemployment climbed to 13.1%, 2.3 percentage points higher than a year earlier, while the female rate increased to 12.2%, up 2.0 percentage points. Among younger workers aged 15–24, the jobless rate also rose to 37.8%, an increase of 9.7 percentage points year-on-year. Meanwhile, employment decreased by 32,000 to 2.594 million, even as the labour force participation rate picked up to 71.3% from 70.4% a year earlier. Meanwhile, the employment rate for those aged 20–64 declined, falling to 76.5% from 77.0%. source: Statistics Finland

Unemployment Rate in Finland increased to 12.70 percent in May from 11.60 percent in April of 2026. Unemployment Rate in Finland averaged 6.58 percent from 1959 until 2026, reaching an all time high of 19.90 percent in May of 1994 and a record low of 0.70 percent in September of 1961. This page provides the latest reported value for - Finland Unemployment Rate - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news. Finland Unemployment Rate - data, historical chart, forecasts and calendar of releases - was last updated on June of 2026.

Unemployment Rate in Finland increased to 12.70 percent in May from 11.60 percent in April of 2026. Unemployment Rate in Finland is expected to be 11.20 percent by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. In the long-term, the Finland Unemployment Rate is projected to trend around 9.30 percent in 2027 and 8.60 percent in 2028, according to our econometric models.



Calendar GMT Reference Actual Previous Consensus TEForecast
2026-05-27 05:00 AM
Unemployment Rate
Apr 11.6% 11.1% 11.5%
2026-06-24 05:00 AM
Unemployment Rate
May 12.7% 11.6% 11.5%
2026-07-21 05:00 AM
Unemployment Rate
Jun 12.7% 11.2%


Related Last Previous Unit Reference
Employed Persons 2594.00 2559.00 Thousand May 2026
Employment Rate 71.30 70.20 percent May 2026
Job Vacancies 33900.00 41313.00 May 2026
Job Vacancy Rate 1.90 0.90 percent Mar 2026
Labor Force Participation Rate 71.30 69.50 percent May 2026
Population 5.64 5.60 Million Dec 2025
Unemployed Persons 376.00 336.00 Thousand May 2026
Unemployment Rate 12.70 11.60 percent May 2026
Wage Growth 2.50 3.30 percent Apr 2026
Wages 4269.00 4253.00 EUR/Month Mar 2026
Wages in Manufacturing 122.80 122.20 points Mar 2026
Youth Unemployment Rate 37.80 28.00 percent May 2026


Finland Unemployment Rate
In Finland, the unemployment rate measures the number of people actively looking for a job as a percentage of the labour force.
Actual Previous Highest Lowest Dates Unit Frequency
12.70 11.60 19.90 0.70 1959 - 2026 percent Monthly
NSA

News Stream
Finnish Jobless Rate Highest Since 1998
Finland’s unemployment rate increased to 12.7% in May 2026 from 10.5% in the same month a year earlier, marking its highest level since May 1998. The number of unemployed climbed by 68,000 year-on-year to 376,000, comprising 203,000 men and 173,000 women. By gender, male unemployment climbed to 13.1%, 2.3 percentage points higher than a year earlier, while the female rate increased to 12.2%, up 2.0 percentage points. Among younger workers aged 15–24, the jobless rate also rose to 37.8%, an increase of 9.7 percentage points year-on-year. Meanwhile, employment decreased by 32,000 to 2.594 million, even as the labour force participation rate picked up to 71.3% from 70.4% a year earlier. Meanwhile, the employment rate for those aged 20–64 declined, falling to 76.5% from 77.0%.
2026-06-24
Finnish Jobless Rate Nears 11-Year High
Finland’s unemployment rate rose to 11.6% in April 2026 from 10.0% in the same month a year earlier, marking its highest level since May 2015. The number of unemployed increased by 48,000 year-on-year to 336,000, comprising 199,000 men and 136,000 women. By gender, male unemployment climbed to 13.3%, 1.9 percentage points higher than a year earlier, while the female rate increased to 9.8%, up 1.3 percentage points. Among younger workers aged 15–24, the jobless rate also rose to 28.0%, an increase of 0.8 percentage points year-on-year. Meanwhile, employment declined by 31,000 to 2.559 million, even as the labour force participation rate edged up to 69.5% from 69.1% a year earlier. The employment rate for those aged 20–64 also slipped, falling to 74.7% from 76.2%.
2026-05-27
Finnish Jobless Rate Highest Since 2015
Finland’s unemployment rate rose to 11.1% in March 2026, up from 10.1% in the same month a year earlier, reaching its highest level since May 2015. The number of unemployed people increased by 30,000 year-on-year to 315,000, including 169,000 men and 148,000 women. The jobless rate for men climbed to 11.5%, 0.2 percentage points higher than a year earlier, while the rate for women rose to 10.7%, up 1.9 percentage points. Youth unemployment also increased, with the share of unemployed people aged 15–24 in the labour force reaching 24.3%, up 0.9 percentage points from a year earlier. Meanwhile, the number of employed people fell by 21,000 to 2.524 million, while the labour force participation rate stood at 68.0%, unchanged from a year earlier. The employment rate for those aged 20–64 declined to 74.2% from 75.6% a year earlier.
2026-04-22