Finland unemployment rate has reached levels that are now reshaping how people look for work and how employers advertise jobs. The high number of jobseekers has made it harder for companies to manage applications, and many positions are no longer posted publicly.
In Finland today, a single job posting can attract hundreds of applicants within days. Radientum, an engineering company in Tampere, recently opened two specialist positions and received 300 applications.
According to CEO Jukka Sjostedt, sorting through that many applications can take a week of full attention. For many companies, this workload has made public postings less attractive. As a result, some firms now prefer to fill roles quietly through networks, word of mouth, or direct recommendations.
Yle News reports that less than half of all open jobs are now advertised. Instead, the majority are hidden vacancies. A survey by the YTK unemployment fund showed that 68 percent of workers found their last job through a hidden vacancy rather than a public listing.
Statistics Finland confirms the shift with new figures. Job openings dropped by nearly 40 percent in the second quarter compared to the same time last year. At the same time, Eurostat data shows Finland now has the second-highest unemployment rate in Europe, following only Spain.
Municipalities are under pressure because they share responsibility for unemployment benefit costs. In Tampere, the local employment office has started calling and visiting companies directly. By reaching out to more than two thousand businesses, they have uncovered hidden job opportunities and in some cases even created new ones on the spot.
Sami Heikkila, who leads Tampere’s recruitment services, said this hands-on approach has helped jobseekers who would never have found these roles through traditional listings.
According to Statistics Finland, there were 269,000 unemployed people last month, which is 40,000 more than the year before. The increase affected all age groups, but the hardest hit were young people under 25.
Among this group, 41,900 were unemployed in July, which is 5,300 more than the previous year. Chief actuary Pertti Taskinen said the number of unemployed youth has stayed high through the summer months and that the shortage of summer jobs made matters worse. Recent graduates also face very limited opportunities, adding to the long-term challenge.
The rise in unemployment and the growth of hidden vacancies are reshaping Finland’s job market. For jobseekers, this means relying less on open job boards and more on networking, direct outreach, and local employment services. For companies, it means adjusting how they recruit to avoid being overwhelmed by large pools of applicants.
The Finland unemployment rate is not only a statistical measure. It is a reality that shapes how people look for work and how businesses hire. With the labor market shifting, the importance of hidden vacancies is only set to grow in the months ahead.
