Long-term unemployed

Updated: 21.5.2013 - Next update: 25.6.2013

The improved economic situation from the beginning of 2010 has been reflected, after a year's time lag, in the number of people in the hard-to-employ groups. From the beginning of 2011, the number of those who are harder to employ decreased for almost a year. However, from the beginning of 2012, their position has become more difficult again and the numbers went back up. This has caused a decreased demand for labour, by a reduction in the available labour policy services and tightened access to unemployment pension since 2010.

Source:
Ministry of Employment and the Economy, Employment Service Statistics

Description of indicator

Structural unemployment can be measured through the development in the number of those difficult to employ. The group of those difficult to employ includes the long-term unemployed, repeatedly unemployed, those becoming unemployed after a labour policy service and those repeatedly circulating between these services. Reducing the number of these people has been the strategic objective of employment and economic development administration.

Long-term unemployed are those continuously registered as unemployed jobseekers for 12 months.

The repeatedly unemployed are those unemployed for more than 12 months in the last 16 months, excluding the aforementioned continuously long-term unemployed.

Those becoming unemployed after a labour policy service are persons whose unemployment began after the end of a labour policy service and, correspondingly, those transferring from service to service are persons who begin on another service after the conclusion of the previous labour policy service. The same person can only be included in one group of those difficult to employ at a time, because these groups are mutually exclusive and such information constitutes cross-sectional information for the last working day of each month.