Employment in Finland increased in August, with 34,000 more people in work than a year earlier, while unemployment edged down by 5,000, according to Statistics Finland’s latest Labour Force Survey. The figures provide an early indication that the improvement seen in parts of the economy is beginning to reach the labour market, although the recovery remains uneven.
The number of employed people aged 15 to 74 reached 2.628 million in August 2026, up from 2.594 million a year earlier. Most of the increase was among men. The number of employed men rose by 32,000 over the year, while the number of employed women remained broadly unchanged.
The improvement was also visible in Finland’s employment rate. Among people aged 20 to 64, the non-seasonally adjusted employment rate rose to 77.3 per cent in August, compared with 76.2 per cent in August 2025. The rate for men increased to 78.6 per cent, while the rate for women reached 75.8 per cent.
The seasonally and randomly adjusted trend, which gives a clearer picture of longer-term labour market movements, put the employment rate for people aged 20 to 64 at 75.9 per cent. Statistics Finland cautions that the latest trend figures are preliminary and can change as additional monthly observations are added.
Unemployment also moved in the right direction, but only slightly. There were 262,000 unemployed people aged 15 to 74 in August, 5,000 fewer than a year earlier. The non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell from 9.3 per cent to 9.1 per cent. The trend unemployment rate, however, was considerably higher at 10.1 per cent.
Statistics Finland senior statistician Tatu Leskinen said economic growth had been reflected in several indicators during the first part of the year and that changes in employment normally follow wider economic developments with a delay. The latest employment figures therefore come as the labour market begins to respond to earlier changes in economic activity.
Leskinen also urged caution in interpreting the small fall in unemployment. A reduction of 5,000 people leaves unemployment relatively close to its level a year earlier, meaning the latest figures should not be taken as evidence of a sharp turnaround on their own.
Another notable change came among people outside the labour force. The number of people aged 15 to 74 who were neither working nor actively seeking work fell to 1.276 million, down by 29,000 from August 2025. The decline was concentrated among men, with 35,000 fewer men outside the labour force. Among women, the number outside the labour force increased by 6,000.
The gender difference may partly reflect where economic activity has strengthened. Leskinen pointed to manufacturing and construction, sectors that traditionally employ more men, as possible factors behind the increase in male participation and employment.
For younger people, however, the picture remains considerably weaker. Finland had 259,000 employed people aged 15 to 24 in August. Statistics Finland said the figure has been lower in August only once since 2010, when the Covid-19 pandemic had begun to disrupt the labour market in 2020.
Youth unemployment also remained high. The unemployment rate among 15 to 24-year-olds was 16.9 per cent in August, 0.3 percentage points higher than a year earlier. The trend figure was substantially higher at 22.7 per cent.
The latest figures follow a difficult stretch for Finland’s labour market. Statistics Finland reported in July that the number of employed people was unchanged from a year earlier, while unemployment had increased by 20,000. The August figures therefore mark a change from the previous month’s year-on-year employment result, although one month’s data are not enough to establish a sustained recovery.
There is a similar reason for caution in reading the latest unemployment figures. The Labour Force Survey is based on a sample survey, and monthly employment and unemployment figures can fluctuate. Statistics Finland recommends looking at the trend series when assessing longer-term developments, while also noting that the most recent trend estimates are subject to revision.
For now, Finland’s employment picture is showing signs of movement after a prolonged weak period. More people were working in August than a year earlier, the overall employment rate increased and the number of people outside the labour force declined. But the modest fall in unemployment and the continued weakness among young people suggest that the improvement has not yet reached every part of the labour market.
The August figures offer evidence of a labour market beginning to respond to stronger economic activity, but they do not yet establish how durable that change will be. The coming months will show whether the increase in employment develops into a broader recovery or remains concentrated in particular groups and sectors.
