Helsinki (23.04.2004 - Juhani Artto) The total size of the workforce (both employed and unemployed) was 2.6 million in 2002, and included three out of four people aged between 15 and 64 years.
The large post-war age band (the "baby boom" generation) is now approaching 60 years of age, and more than a quarter of the employed workforce is at least 50 years old, whereas in 1994 the share of over-50s was only 19 per cent. During the past few years the average retirement age of about 59 years has remained unchanged.
At the end of 2002 there were 2.4 million employed and 240,000 unemployed persons. In 2002 about 87 per cent of persons in gainful occupations were wage and salary earners.
The number of self-employed persons (excluding farmers) rose in the 1990s, but has diminished slightly since reaching a record-high of 212,000 entrepreneurs in 2000.
The private sector employs 73 per cent and the public sector 27 per cent of persons in work. About 77 per cent of public sector jobs are in local government.
The employed workforce can be grouped into three occupational branches of nearly equal size: production work (31 per cent), service work (34 per cent) and information work (34 per cent). Over the period 1994-2002 the proportion engaged in production work fell by four percentage points while the other two branches grew correspondingly.
Four out of five employees were in permanent employment in 2002. The share of temporary jobs has remained unchanged over the last few years. Most commonly these are in public health services and social welfare work, where one in four employees was working on a temporary basis.