Helsinki, Jan 25 : Finland's unemployment rate rose as employment weakened in 2024, announced Statistics Finland.

According to the statistical agency, the average number of employed people aged 15 to 74 was 2,602,000, while 238,000 were unemployed. There were 25,000 fewer employed and 34,000 more unemployed people compared to the previous year, Xinhua news agency reported.

In the 20 to 64 age group, the employment rate was 76.7 per cent last year, a drop of 1.2 per cent from 2023.

At the same time, the number of unemployed people in Finland increased from the previous year. The unemployment rate among 15 to 74-year-olds stood at 8.4 per cent in 2024, rising by 1.2 per cent from a year earlier.

"Unemployment remains at a high level, and there are still no signs of a turnaround in the labor market," said Henna Busk, senior economist at Pellervo Economic Research PTT, commenting on the latest employment figures released by Statistics Finland.

In a press release issued by PTT on Friday, Busk said it is worrying that employment in the field of professional, scientific and technical activities declined the most in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023, indicating a weak employment trend among highly educated people.

The number of long-term unemployed people also continues to rise. "The larger the group of long-term unemployed, the harder it is to reduce unemployment," said Busk.

/IANS