Finland unemployment drops in December

Finland’s unemployment rate saw a year-on-year decrease last month, new figures have revealed. The news comes via the latest Labor Force Survey from Statistics Finland, which showed the country’s jobless rate dropped to 6.9 percent in December of 2012, down from 7.3 percent in November and the 7.4 percent seen during the same month one year prior.

With seasonal factors included, December’s rate was adjusted to 7.7 percent, marking a modest 0.1 percent decline from the rate seen in November and the lowest seasonal rate in six months.

Meanwhile, country’s total number of unemployed individuals amounted to 180,000 last month, whereas, in the December of 2011 survey, the figure stood at 192,000. The rate for the entire year leading up to 1 January was 7.7 percent, compared to the 7.8 percent and 8.4 percent seen in 2011 and 2010, respectively.

However, the Q4 unemployment rate for 2012 was 7.0 percent, marking a slight rise in the figure seen during the same period of 2011, when it stood at 6.8 percent.