About 22 percent of the Finnish Construction Trade Union's members were unemployed or temporarily laid off in January, the union has revealed.
The figures mark a significant increase on January last year, when the rate was 14.3 percent, as well as on the previous month of December, when it stood at 16.2 percent.
In real terms, this means that about 2,500 more workers in the sector were unemployed or laid off in January compared to December — reflecting the "crisis" the sector faces, according to union president Kimmo Palonen.
"This situation was predictable, and unemployment will continue to rise," Palonen said.
Despite the rate of fuloughs in the sector, Palonen noted that demand for new housing, as well as for the renovation of older properties, remains high.
"The construction industry confederation has said that 600,000 dwellings will have to be built in the largest urban growth centres by 2040," he said.
Palonen, along with representatives from the confederation, met with Minister of Climate and the Environment Kai Mykkänen (NCP) at the end of January to discuss the problems in the sector.
The industry proposed a number of different measures to the minister, Palonen said, including an increase in state subsidies for the construction of housing, stimulating the renovation market with a temporary 10 percent grant and giving priority to investment in infrastructure.
Palonen added that the industry is facing many challenges, and the government's planned labour market reforms and cuts to social security benefits are exacerbating the situation.
"Alongside the cuts in unemployment benefits, this situation is driving professionals out of the sector. Not only workers, but companies will also suffer," he said.
Earlier on Thursday, three subsidiaries of one of Finland's biggest construction companies, Lehto, filed for bankruptcy at Oulu District Court.
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