Weak economic trend in construction has led to higher unemployment among foreigners

The number of unemployed foreign jobseekers is increasing. The growth is explained by the Ukrainian beneficiaries of temporary protection registering as customers of employment services and the increasing number of foreign nationals in Finland.

The figures in the review for January 2024 show that: 

• In January, the number of unemployed foreign jobseekers totalled 42,428, which is 15 per cent of all unemployed jobseekers. The number of unemployed foreign jobseekers increased 19 per cent (6,636 persons) from the previous year. 
• The number of unemployed foreign jobseekers keeps growing. The growth is explained by the Ukrainian beneficiaries of temporary protection registering as customers of employment services and, more generally, the increasing number of foreign nationals in Finland.
• However, the recent growth in unemployment among foreigners has also been driven by the weak economic trend in the construction sector, in particular. One indication of this is the growth in unemployment especially among foreign men.
• According to the Labour Force Survey, the employment rate of foreigners was 66.3 per cent in the third quarter of 2023. The seasonally adjusted employment rate of foreign citizens fell by 1.9 percentage points from the previous quarter.
  • The employment rate of foreigners remained markedly higher in the first half of 2023 than before the coronavirus crisis. However, it now seems that the trend in the employment rate has started to fall due to the economic decline. The employment rate of foreigners is more cyclically sensitive than that of Finnish citizens. 

On the basis of the register data of the Employment Service Statistics and the survey data of the Labour Force Survey, the Centre of Expertise in Immigrant Integration publishes a monthly review of employment among foreign citizens and foreign-language speakers and of their participation in employment promotion services.

February 2024 overview of unemployment of foreign citizens and foreign-language speakers and their participation in employment promotion services (in Finnish)

More information:
Employment Bulletins