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52681
Decrease in labour force participation
statistikk
2011-05-04T10:00:00.000Z
Labour market and earnings;Labour market and earnings;Immigration and immigrants
en
aku, Labour force survey, LFS, labour market, employees, unemployed, economically active, labour force, labour force status, employees by industry, underemployment, part-time work, hours of work, temporary staffUnemployment , Employment , Labour market and earnings, Labour market and earnings, Immigration and immigrants
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Labour force surveyQ1 2011

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Decrease in labour force participation

From the 1st quarter of 2010 to the 1st quarter of 2011 the labour force participation decreased by 0.9 percentage points, ending at 70.9 per cent. The decrease was among men.

Seasonally-adjusted figures: continued decrease in unemployment

A total of 3.1 per cent of the labour force was unemployed in February 2011; a decrease of 0.5 percentage points since November 2010. Adjustments for seasonal variations allow for the analysis of current developments in the labour market, and serve as an alternative to comparisons with the corresponding quarter in the previous year. Seasonally-adjusted figures are presented in a separate article .

Unemployed (LFS), registered unemployed and registered employed + public sector job creation programmes. Seasonally-adjusted figures, three month moving average in 1 000

The decrease in the labour force participation is due to the heavy population growth of 62 000 persons; a growth that does not correspond to the development of the labour participation rate. From the 1st quarter of 2010 to the 1st quarter of 2011 the labour force increased by 14 000 people. The decrease in the labour force participation rate was especially high among the youngest and among men between 55-66 years of age.

The population growth and absence of growth in the labour force participation rate is reflected in an increase of 14 000 persons having education as their main activity, while 24 000 more persons were early retired/disabled or retired. These are groups that are considered to be outside the labour force.

The labour force is the sum of employed and unemployed between 15-74 years of age. From the 1st quarter of 2010 to the 1st quarter of 2011 the LFS shows that employment rose by about 25 000 persons and unemployment fell by 11 000 persons. This gives an increase in the labour force of 14 000 persons. Because of a population growth of 62 000 persons in the same period, there is nevertheless a decrease in the labour force participation rate.

The coherence between the concepts

Unemployed + Employed = Labour force

Labour force + Outside the labour force = Population

Increase in employment within human health and social work activities

From the 1st quarter of 2010 to the 1st quarter of 2011, employment rose by 25 000 persons. Human health and social work activities had an increase of 28 000 persons. There were only small changes in the other major industries.

Workforce and employed persons. Seasonally-adjusted figures, three month moving average in 1 000

In the 1st quarter of 2011 there were 173 000 persons on temporary contracts. This amounts to 7.4 per cent of the total employment. The use of temporary contracts is most frequent within education and human and health social work, with 13 and 11 per cent of the employees respectively.

Decrease in unemployment

Between the 1st quarter of 2010 and the 1st quarter of 2011 the number of unemployed increased by 11 000 persons. The decrease was among people who have been unemployed for less than three months. The share of long-term unemployed has risen from 32 to 34 per cent. Long-term unemployed are people who have been out of work for more than 26 weeks.

There was a total of 68 000 underemployed persons in the 1st quarter of 2011; 5 000 more than the corresponding quarter the year before. Underemployment is employees with part-time contractual working hours who have tried to find more work. Together, the groups of underemployed and unemployed wanting work corresponds to 96 000 full-time equivalents in the 1st quarter of 2011; down 8 000 from the year before. The decrease is due to less unemployment.

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