Labour force

In August 2022, the number of people in the labour force aged 15–74 increased by 73 000 to 5 675 000, not seasonally adjusted. The number of women in the labour force was 2,687,000 and the number of men was 2,988,000. The relative labour force participation rate was 75.2 percent. Among women it was 72.5 percent, and among men it was 77.7 percent.

Seasonally adjusted and smoothed data shows an increase in both the number and share of people in the labour force compared with nearby months. The number of people in the labour force amounted to 5,639,000, corresponding to a labour force participation rate of 74.7 percent.

Employment

In August 2022, there were 5,302,000 employed people aged 15–74, not seasonally adjusted. This is an increase of 179,000 compared to August 2021. The number of employed women increased by 85,000 to 2,512,000 and the number of employed men increased by 93,000 to 2,791,000. The employment rate increased by 2.0 percentage points to 70.2 percent. Among women the employment rate increased by 2.1 percentage points to 67.8 percent, and among men the employment rate increased by 1.9 percentage points to 72.5 percent. Among young people aged 15 to 24, the number of employed people increased by 82,000 to 578,000. This corresponds to an employment rate of 49.3 percent, an increase of 5.9 percentage points. During the summer, employment generally increases as a result of young people entering the labour market.

Smoothed and seasonally adjusted data shows an increase in both the number and share of employed people compared with recent months. There were 5,232,000 employed people, corresponding to an employment rate of 69.3 percent. Both the number and proportion of employed young people increased compared with nearby months. There were 545,000 employed young people corresponding to an employment rate of 46.4 percent.

Employees

In August 2022, there were 4,780,000 employees, not seasonally adjusted. This is an increase of 224,000 compared with the corresponding month last year. The number of employees increased both among women and men. Among women, the number of employees increased by 102,000 to 2,369,000, and among men by 121,000 to 2,410,000. There were 3,962,000 permanent employees, an increase of 126,000. Among women, there were 1,921,000 permanent employees and among men, the number of permanent employees increased by 85,000 to 2,042,000. The number of temporary employees increased by 98,000 to 817,000. Among women, the number of temporary employees increased by 62,000 to 449,000. Among men, the number of temporary employees were 369,000.

For seasonally adjusted and smoothed data, the number of employees was 4,725,000. The corresponding figure for permanent employees was 3,968,000 and for temporary employees 757,000. Compared with nearby months, seasonally adjusted and smoothed data shows an increase in the number of employees, permanent as well as temporary employees.

Hours worked

The average number of hours worked in August 2022 amounted to 138.4 million per week, not seasonally adjusted. In calendar-adjusted figures, this corresponds to an increase of 5.1 percent compared with August 2021.

According to seasonally adjusted and smoothed data there was an increase in the average number of hours worked compared to nearby months, which amounted to 156.6 million per week.

Unemployment

In August 2022, there were 373,000 unemployed people aged 15–74 years, not seasonally adjusted. This is a decrease of 106,000 compared with August 2021. It corresponds to an unemployment rate of 6.6 percent, a decrease of 1.9 percentage points. The number of unemployed women decreased by 49,000 to 175,000. The number of unemployed men decreased by 58,000 to 198,000. The female unemployment rate was 6,5 percent, a decrease of 1.9 percentage point, and the male unemployment rate was 6.6 percent, a decrease of 2.0 percentage points. There were 119,000 unemployed young people aged 15–24, corresponding to an unemployment rate of 17.1 percent.

Among people aged 15–74 years, seasonally adjusted and smoothed data shows a decrease in both the number and share of unemployed people compared to nearby months. In August 2022 there were 407,000 unemployed people, which corresponds to an unemployment rate of 7.2 percent. Among young people aged 15–24, it shows a decrease in both the number and share of unemployed people compared to nearby months. The number of unemployed young people amounted to 136,000, corresponding to an unemployment rate of 19.9 percent.

Unused labour supply

Unemployed people, underemployed people and latent job seekers together comprise the unused labour supply. In August 2022, the unused labour supply averaged 20.6 million hours per week, which is 4.2 million hours less compared to August 2021. The unused labour supply corresponds to 515,000 full-time employments with 40-hour work weeks.

There were 297,000 underemployed people in August 2022, of which 135,000 were women and 162,000 were men. The number of latent job seekers was 242,000. Among the latent job seekers, 129,000 were women and 114,000 were men, a decrease of 43 000.

2022-10-21.