Somewhat up this year, to then turn down slightly in 2025. This is how unemployment develops, according to the Employment Service's new prognosis.
There are quite small changes expected in unemployment. Unemployment rises this year to 351,000 or 6.7 per cent of the workforce, as a yearly average. This can be compared with 334,000 or 6.4 per cent last year.
In 2025, the number of unemployed falls back slightly to 347,000, according to the prognosis.
At the end of April this year, 346,000 people, or 6.6 per cent of the workforce, were registered as unemployed with the country's employment agencies. This level has remained fairly steady since the turn of the year.
"The labour market does not fully recover during the prognosis period, which extends to 2025. However, as the economy strengthens, the demand for labour is expected to increase and unemployment to decrease," says Eva Samakovlis, the Employment Service's analysis director, in a press release.
The weaker trend this year is mainly due to the fact that redundancy levels are higher than normal. At the same time, the number of newly registered vacant positions is lower.
Above all, it is those with a weak position on the labour market who are having a hard time. Long-term unemployment is expected to rise, to around 150,000 people by the end of 2025, according to the Employment Service.
The Employment Service releases its report on job prospects twice a year. This time, the survey material from employers, which usually is a heavy factor in the assessment, is missing.
