Economic downturn has contributed to the increase in the number of unemployed foreign nationals

In March, the number of foreign unemployed job seekers increased by 1.7% from the previous year. The economic downturn explains the increase in the number of unemployed people in the short term (2023–2025). In the long term, the growth is explained by the growth in the foreign workforce in Finland. 

According to the Employment Bulletin based on the data from March 2026:  

• In March, the number of foreign unemployed job seekers was 49,539, which is 14.5% of all unemployed job seekers. The number of foreign unemployed job seekers increased by 1.7% (849 people) from the previous year. 
  • The growth in the number of foreign unemployed job seekers slowed down significantly towards the end of 2025. In March 2026, the number of foreign unemployed job seekers increased significantly more moderately (1.7%) than the number of Finnish unemployed job seekers (7.9%) when compared to the previous year. 
  • The trend in the number of unemployed foreign nationals has diverged by gender: the number of men decreased by 1.2 per cent from the previous year, while the number of women increased by 5.0 per cent. 
  • In the long term, the increased number of unemployed foreign nationals is explained by the increased amount of the foreign labour force in Finland. In the shorter term (2023–2025), the increased number of unemployed foreign nationals is explained by the economic downturn. 
• According to the Labour Force Survey, foreigners had an employment rate of 56.8% and an unemployment rate of 19.9% in the fourth quarter of 2025. The economic downturn continues to affect the employment rate of foreign citizens, which decreased slightly from the previous quarter. The unemployment rate of foreigners decreased slightly compared to the previous quarter.  

The KEHA Centre publishes a monthly review on the employment of foreign citizens and their participation in services. The monthly review is largely based on the register data of the Employment Service Statistics of the KEHA Centre.  

March 2026 review on the unemployment of foreign citizens and foreign-language speakers and their participation in services (pdf) (in Finnish)

More information:
Employment Bulletins