Employment Service Statistics reform is progressing – six-month review
- News
The reform of the Employment Service Statistics has progressed from planning to concrete implementation in spring 2026. The reform aims to ensure the continuity and reliability of the statistics and to develop the national knowledge base of employment services.
The Employment Service Statistics are a key tool in the monitoring of employment services and knowledge-based management. It compiles information on job seekers, open jobs, unemployment and participation in services. This data is used in the Employment Bulletin, research, regional analyses and decision-making.
Towards implementation
During the first half of the year, the work has focused on reviewing the current situation and data contents, mapping user needs and preparing for the future implementation. Feedback from users and stakeholders highlighted the importance of the findability, clarity, usability and comparability of information. The reform aims to strengthen these themes.
At the same time, the contents of the current statistics, such as variables, classifications and reporting, have been examined in more detail. The aim is to ensure that important data and their dependencies are retained in the new solution.
Two-stage deployment ensures continuity
The reform will be implemented in two stages to ensure that statistics production is not interrupted and data reliability is not compromised. In the first stage, the current publication system will remain in use and a new technical solution will be built in the background. The aim is to make the change as unnoticeable as possible to users. At this stage, the old and new production will be compared and tested and the quality of the data will be ensured.
In the second stage, the actual publication service will be reformed and interfaces, download options, language versions and accessibility will be developed, among other things.
The two-stage model reduces risks: after the continuity of production has been ensured, the service can be developed more extensively.
What's next?
The next step in the reform is to ensure that the new technical solution produces the same data as the current system. In practice, this means comparison, testing and quality assurance. In the early stages, the aim is to minimise visible changes to users so that the transition goes smoothly.
Once continuity has been secured, the development focus will shift to improving the user experience. The goal is to make the Employment Service Statistics easier to use and utilise. Future development areas include a new publication service, better interfaces and download options, accessibility and language versions as well as the utilisation of metadata.
Cooperation continues strong
The scope of the reform is broad, and it includes close cooperation with different actors. The partners include the employment authorities, the KEHA Centre, the Economic Development Centres, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment and Statistics Finland. The project will continue to engage in active dialogue with users also in the future.
The aim is to ensure that the Employment Service Statistics will continue to serve its users reliably and to support national and regional information management within employment services – first by ensuring continuity and then by making the service better and more user-friendly.