TE services reform 2024: Progress made in the establishment of employment areas
Municipalities or municipal co-management areas have submitted their notifications concerning the establishment of employment areas to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment.
At the beginning of 2025, the responsibility for organising TE Services will be transferred to municipalities or to employment regions consisting of several municipalities. For this purpose, municipalities have had to notify the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment of how they intend to organise employment services.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment has received a total of 38 notifications and 7 applications for exemptions from municipalities concerning the organisation of employment services. In addition, five municipalities did not notify the Ministry that they would organise the services themselves or participate in a municipal co-management area.
Notifications and applications will be processed during November
The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment and the Ministry of Finance will process the notifications and applications for exemptions during November. The employment areas that can proceed as planned will be known at the end of November. In addition, it will be known for which areas a procedure based on a Government decision to form an employment area will be applied. The procedure will be initiated if a municipality or a municipal co-management area that has submitted a notification or an application for exemption does not meet the criteria for the responsibility for organising services laid down in the Act. If the procedure is initiated, the relevant municipalities will be consulted on the proposal to form an employment area.
The Government will make decisions on the employment areas by February 2024.
What is the aim of the future employment regions?
Municipalities and employment regions know their local residents and trade and industry best, so the reform will provide customers with services tailored to their local needs.
The municipalities’ opportunities to develop services to meet the needs of local residents and employers also strengthen the vitality and competitiveness of the regions. This boosts the efficiency of the employment process, as employment services, educational services and business services are the responsibility of the same provider. Regional mobility will also be considered in the reform.
The TE24 reform is part of the Government’s employment measures. The aim is that job seekers find work and that employers find the talent they need. This will strengthen growth and well-being in Finland in a sustainable manner. The reform has been calculated to increase the number of employed people by 7,000–10,000.
Read more
- Summary of employment areas proposed by municipalities and municipal co-management areas by 31 October 2023 (in Finnish)
- TE24 reform: Preparation of employment regions is progressing fast
- TE24 and KOTO24