Finland job vacancies fell to their lowest level in nearly a decade at the end of 2025, highlighting a clear slowdown in the labor market. Statistics Finland reported that open positions dropped to 22,700 in the fourth quarter, a 31 per cent decline from the same period in 2024. This marks the weakest end-of-year figure since 2016.
For the full year, employers reported an average of 34,100 vacancies, down 22 per cent from the previous year. The trend reflects a continued contraction in hiring that began after a peak in 2022. Compared with that year, the number of job openings has fallen by half.
“Last year saw fewer open jobs than at any point since 2016. Compared with 2022, the number of vacancies has halved,” said Matti Lahdenmäki, Chief Actuary at Statistics Finland.
Helsinki-Uusimaa maintained the highest number of vacancies, with roughly 12,400 openings over the year. Its decline of 17 per cent remained below the national average, suggesting stronger resilience in the capital region.
Western Finland experienced the steepest drop in vacancies. The number of openings fell 34 per cent year on year and has fallen 57 per cent since 2022. This region includes Pirkanmaa, Satakunta, Central Finland, South Ostrobothnia, and Ostrobothnia.
Construction faced the sharpest proportional decrease in vacancies, down 47 per cent from 2024. Since 2022, the industry now has less than one third of its peak number of open positions.
In absolute terms, trade, transport and storage, and accommodation and food services recorded the largest reductions, each losing roughly 2,300 vacancies compared with the previous year.
Temporary roles accounted for an increasing share of the labor market. Over 2025, 43 per cent of vacancies were fixed-term positions, up six percentage points from 2024. The lowest recorded share was under one third in 2022.
In the final quarter, 30 per cent of vacancies were fixed term, while 16 per cent were part-time. Part-time roles experienced the sharpest relative decline, with only half as many openings as a year earlier, according to Kirsi Toivonen, Chief Actuary at Statistics Finland.
Almost 70 per cent of all job openings were in private companies. Municipalities and joint municipal authorities represented 17 per cent, and the central government just over 3 per cent.
The broader labor market context shows Finland struggling with high unemployment. Eurostat reported a national unemployment rate of 10.6 per cent in November 2025, the highest among European Union member states for that month.
These trends suggest a labor market adjusting to slower economic growth, with temporary work becoming increasingly prevalent and certain regions and sectors facing deeper contractions.
