The number of people moving to Finland for work decreased last year, most notably among workers in the social and healthcare sector as well as in the construction industry.
According to a report by the European Migration Network (EMN), a body made up of migration and asylum experts, Finland issued 11,000 first residence permits on the basis of work in 2024 — a drop of some 23 percent on the previous year.
Permits for people coming to Finland to work in social and healthcare services were down by more than half, according to the report, dropping from 2,272 in 2023 to 1,034 last year. This comes at a time when estimates say Finland needs 31,000 more practical nurses by 2040.
In the construction sector, just 425 permits were handed out last year, down from 1,539 in 2023 — a decline which the EMN noted is a "significant phenomenon".
In addition, the number of permits issued to so-called specialist workers continued to decline since hitting a peak in 2022, with fewer than 1,000 granted last year.
Despite the overall decline in work-based immigration, the Finnish Immigration Service Migri noted that the number of work-based permits granted last year was still relatively high when viewed over a longer time frame. Last year's intake was still higher than in the years before the Covid pandemic.
The majority of work-based permits were handed out to applicants from Asian countries, with the Philippines and Thailand especially prominent across all categories.
Ministry: Long-term unemployment could hit record high
In a separate report released on Tuesday, Finland's Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment noted that the number of people considered to be long-term unemployed is "growing rapidly" and could surpass the record set during the recession of the 1990s.
According to the ministry's figures, the number of long-term unemployed people in Finland is set to climb to 136,000 by the end of this year and continue to increase next year, to about 140,000.
During the worst phase of the recession in the 1990s, about 143,000 people were considered long-term unemployed, which by the ministry's definition means they had been looking for work for more than a year.
In addition, the ministry's report also predicted that the employment situation will improve next year and the momentum will continue into 2027 — but this recovery will begin to happen later than previously forecast.
"Economic uncertainty has delayed the change for the better in the labour market, which was expected to happen this year," the report said.
According to the ministry's figures, Finland's unemployment rate will rise by 0.7 percentage points this year to reach a level of 9.1 percent, before falling slightly next year and dropping to about 8.4 percent in 2027.
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