Estimations of change between March 2017 and March 2018 may be slightly underestimated. This has an impact on comparisons with March 2017 regarding the labour force, employment and employed persons, mainly concerning women. The estimations of change should therefore be used with some caution. Accuracy in level estimations for March 2018 is normal.

In March 2018, there were 5 038 000 employed persons aged 15─74, not seasonally adjusted, which was an increase of 75 000 compared with March 2017. There were 2 649 000 employed men, an increase of 76 000, and 2 389 000 employed women. The employment rate was 67.7 percent. Among men, the employment rate increased by 1.4 percentage points to 70.0 percent and among women, it was 65.3 percent. Smoothed and seasonally adjusted data shows a continued increase in the number of employed persons and in the employment rate compared with recent months. In March 2018, there were 5 091 000 employed persons, which corresponds to an employment rate of 68.4 percent.

The number of employees aged 15─74 in March 2018 increased by 82 000 compared with March 2017 and amounted to 4 542 000, not seasonally adjusted. Among men, the number of employees was 2 288 000, an increase of 80 000. Among women, the number of employees amounted to 2 254 000. The number of permanent employees in the same period increased by 84 000 and amounted to 3 816 000. Among men, the number of permanent employees amounted to 1 961 000, an increase of 72 000. Among women the number of permanent employees was 1 855 000. There were 726 000 temporary employees. Compared with nearby months, smoothed and seasonally adjusted data shows an increase in the number of permanent employees and in the number of temporary employees.

On average, the number of hours worked in March 2018 amounted to 160.2 million per week, not seasonally adjusted. Smoothed and seasonally adjusted data shows an increase in the number of hours worked per week compared with recent months. On average, the number of hours worked amounted to 154.9 million per week in March 2018.

In March 2018, the number of unemployed persons aged 15─74 amounted to 352 000, not seasonally adjusted. This corresponds to an unemployment rate of 6.5 percent. There were 185 000 unemployed men and 167 000 unemployed women. The unemployment rate was 6.5 percent among both men and women. Among young people aged 15─24, there were 117 000 unemployed people, of whom 78 000 were full-time students. The unemployment rate among young people was 19.9 percent. Among persons aged 15–74, smoothed and seasonally adjusted data shows a decrease both in the number of unemployed persons and the unemployment rate. There were 333 000 unemployed persons in March 2018, which corresponds to an unemployment rate of 6.2 percent. Among young people aged 15─24, smoothed and seasonally adjusted data shows a decrease in both the number of unemployed persons and the unemployment rate. There were 100 000 unemployed young people, which corresponds to an unemployment rate of 16.1 percent.

2018-05-22 at 9:30.