Employment Service Statistics
Most job seekers are unemployed, and in order to receive unemployment security, they must register as job seekers with the relevant employment services. The KEHA Centre uses different classifications and variables to compile comprehensive statistics on the unemployed and other job seekers in its Employment Service Statistics. They also contain data on vacancies and labour policy services. The data is available on the monthly national Employment Reports, and more extensively on the KEHA Centre’s Employment Service Statistics database.
The most important data on employment services is obtained from the entries to the client information systems that are made by specialists as part of their everyday work. This data is collected and processed anonymously. The Employment Service Statistics constitute the most important official register for data collected from the client information systems maintained by the KEHA Centre.
The Employment Service Statistics are based on the register data of Job Market Finland, the URA system, and Job Market Finland for Specialists. The Statistics contain extensive data on job seekers, public employment services, and vacancies. The Employment Service Statistics are published monthly in the Employment Report, and more extensive data is available on Statistics Finland’s StatFin statistical service.
Two methods of measuring unemployment
Unemployment in Finland is monitored monthly in two different statistics. Statistics Finland’s Labour Force Survey is based on a sample, while the data in the Employment Service Statistics of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment is compiled from the data in the systems used by the employment officials.
The unemployment figures in the Labour Force Survey and the Employment Service Statistics differ from each other. This is due to the use of two different methods and the fact that they focus on different statistical criteria in terms of job seeking activity and the availability of job seekers in the labour market. The statistics are published monthly at the same time.
In the Employment Service Statistics of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, any persons who are not employed or acting as entrepreneurs are classified as unemployed. In addition, any persons who have been laid off full-time are considered unemployed in the Employment Service Statistics. Full-time students, on the other hand, are not considered unemployed.
Statistics Finland’s Labour Force Survey focuses on a more binding definition of unemployment. It requires that the unemployed person has actively sought employment during the four weeks preceding the survey week, and that they are prepared to accept employment within the next two weeks. The Labour Force Survey of Statistics Finland produces official unemployment figures that are internationally comparable.
If you have any questions about the Employment Service Statistics, please send an email to tyonvalitystilasto.keha@ely-keskus.fi.
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