JHL (16.12.2013 - Heikki Jokinen) The unemployment rate among JHL members is lower than the average. This bit of news was unearthed by JHL magazine Motiivi when studying the statistics. The figures are from last June.

The unemployment rate among the whole labour force was 11.6 per cent and among JHL members 8.1 per cent. Only in one of the 19 counties were the figures not in favour of JHL members.

The lowest unemployment rate among JHL members was in the archipelago county Åland, 1.6 per cent. The unemployment rate in Åland is also low in general, 3.1 per cent.

The second lowest rate is in Uusimaa, the region around the capital Helsinki, where 4.3 per cent of JHL members were unemployed. Among the whole labour force in Uusimaa the percentage was 9.2.

The highest unemployment rates among JHL members were in some eastern and northern Finnish counties. In Kainuu it was 16.1 per cent, in Northern Carelia 13.9 and in Lapland 11.4. The only county with a higher JHL unemployment rate than among the whole labour force is Kainuu with a 14.8 per cent general unemployment rate.

Regional changes in unemployment seem to have levelled out in the past few years, Motiivi notes. The economic recession has not been fuelling unemployment to any significant degree in the eastern and northern counties with traditionally high unemployment rates.

The situation is different in many cities and regions which have more export industry. With many major export companies making their staff redundant in recent times, unemployment has been rising rapidly in industrial areas and major cities.

The worsening economic situation in many municipalities might change the situation for JHL members, too, Motiivi writes. Several municipalities have already announced redundancies and temporary lay-offs for the next year.

JHL has tailored a web site to inform its members about jobs which are available, Duunivinkit (Job hints). There it is possible to search for job openings both according to area and profession, for all who also have their own Facebook page. On joining it, one can receive immediate information on new jobs and other interesting news.

The pages also include a lot of information on how to turn out a good CV and prepare for a job interview. For the time being the pages are only available in Finnish.

Duunivinkit (only in Finnish)

JHL unemployment figures in all Finnish municipalities (only in Finnish, PDF)