Living and Working in Finland

Living and Working in Finland

Employment and Economic Development Office KouvolaJoensuu

Employment and Economic Development Office

Living and Working in Finland

Contents

Introduction Labour market situation Searching for a job Training and studying Moving to Finland Living and working conditions Where to find further information


- 5,3 million inhabitants- parliamentary republic since

1917- neighbouring countries:

Sweden, Norway, Russia, Estonia

- two official languages: Finnish (90,9%) and Swedish (5,4%)

- religions: Evangelical-Lutherans (80,7%), Orthodoxs (1,1%)

- member of the EU since 1995- currency: Euro

Introduction


5 %

16 %

7 %

16 %

10 %

7 %

27 %12 %

Agriculture and forestry (5%)

Industry (16%)

Construction (7%)

Trade and hotel (16%)

Transport and communication(10%)Financial and business services(7%)Public services (27%)

Other services (12%)

Source: Statistics Finland

Employed persons by sector2nd quarter 2009

Characteristics ofthe Finnish labour market 75% of employees work under a permanent+full time contract Women generally participate in the labour market, their employment rate being about 71%. Some 75% of workers belong to a trade union 21 % are part time jobs

Source: Statistics Finland


Characteristics of the Finnish labour market

Employment and unemployment in January 2010 Number of employed persons 87,000 less than one year

earlier Employment rate 65,5% Unemployment rate 9,5%, 296 600 unemployed

38 300 new vacancies at employment offices, 7 000 less than one year earlier

Source: Employment Bulletin , Ministry of Employment and the Economy


Regional

labour

market

situation

(2009)


RATIO OF THEUNEMPLOYED

JOBSEEKERS OF THE

LABOUR FORCE BY

MUNICIPALITY

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008

Unemployment rate in Finland, in EU and in the certain industrial countries , %

FinlandEU USA Japan

Source: OECD, Eurostat

Standardised Unemployment rates, Seasonally adjusted

22.9.2009/tyot13/TEM


Labour shortages

most problematic sectors: health care and services

TOP 10 Shortages (May 2009)- registered nurse - hairdresser/barber- practical nurse - cleaner- waitress - taxi driver- cook/chef - sales representative- sales agent - telesales person


National labour administration: www.mol.fi EURES Portal: http://eures.europa.eu

Companies often recruit through their own internet sites. List of 100 largest Finnish companies: www.uranus.fi

Private recruitment agencies e.g. www.manpower.fi, www.adecco.fi, www.barona.fi, www.staffpoint.fi

Direct contact with employers!

Searching for a job


Language skills requirements

Finnish usually required, in some areas Swedish

• In English may manage for example:

seasonal gardening, berry picking, kitchen work

IT, engineering, international business, research


Standard application procedures

CV and application letter – by email examples of CVs: http://europass.europa.eu employers usually choose 3 to 5 applicants to be interviewed


International student mobility

Finland has 20 universities and 30 polytechnics over 400 study programmes are taught in English in Finnish higher education ERASMUS student mobility in academic year 2007-2008:

appr. 6400 foreign students to Finland, mostly from Germany (1080), France (880), Spain (760), Poland (482) and Italy (394) Finland was one of the most popular destination countries for exchange students (7th among 31 countries)


Recognition of qualifications

Finnish National Board of Education (OPH) Contact before coming to Finland recognition required for posts in public sector not required for private sector, unless the profession in question is regulated (e.g. electricians, pilots)

Right to practise profession needed for the following professions: health care professionals, veterinary surgeons, chartered public finance auditors, chartered accountants, advocates, seafarers Different authorities grant the right More information: www.oph.fi/info/recognition


EU registration at the local police: www.poliisi.fi

Population register and home municipality at the Local Register Office: www.maistraatti.fi

Social security at the local social insurance office: www.kela.fi

If employed: Tax card at the local tax office www.vero.fi

Moving to Finland - First steps


Collective agreements specifying pay rates for various sectors

If there is no collective agreement (e.g. domestic helpers), the salary should be at least 1.019 €/month (in 2009)

Regular working hours are 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week, with two days' leave per calendar month worked

More information: www.tyosuojelu.fi, www.mol.fi/finnwork

Ask for the employment contract in written form!

Terms of Employment


Private sector (2008): IT Programmer 3 661 € / month Carpenter 2 500 € / month Hairdresser/Barber 1 967 € / month Truck driver 2 449 € / month

Public sector (2008): Cleaner 1 762 € / month Class teacher 3 060 € /month Nurse 2 688 € / month Librarian 2 308 € / month

An average Finnish salary 2 862 €/month (2008, 4th quarter)

(a. 11.100 zlotys) Source: Statistics Finland

Examples of gross incomes


Income tax: Up to 6 months: tax at source 35% - deduction of 510 euros More than 6 months: progressive income tax

Average Finnish salary taxes/compulsory contributions 21 - 26.5 %

(city/municipality local taxes + church tax (1– 2,25% varies)

More information: www.vero.fi

Taxation


How much will it cost?

Examples : Average rent for a two room flat: 400 – 700 €/month Average price for a two room flat: 80 000 – 120 000 €

In Helsinki metropolitan area the prices are considerably higher,in the countryside considerably lower

Accommodation


Where to look for? Internet portals: www.oikotie.fi Private companies: e.g. www.sato.fi, www.yh.fi Newspapers: www.sanomalehdet.fi Youth hostels: www.srmnet.org

Milk 1 l 1 euro Beer 0,4 l 5 euros Hamburger Mc Donalds 2,5 eurosJeans 80 euros Bus ticket 2,80 Cinema ticket 9 euros

Some other prices:


Information of living and working, vacancies: http://eures.europa.eu

Detailed information for foreign workers: www.mol.fi/finnwork,www.infopankki.fi

Further information:


Thank You !

EURES-advisers Taru Asikainen Helena Sommarberg


Living and Working in Finland

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