Finland’s unemployment rate has soared to one of the highest in the EU, and with no clear signs of a turnaround, experts say it poses a challenge to the country’s welfare model.
Inez Aulen, 29, who recently graduated with a master’s degree in media and communication, has applied for more than 50 jobs, despite having several years of experience and speaking three languages fluently, she told AFP.
She’s been unemployed for five weeks, but employment services have told her to be ready for at least six months of job hunting and even suggested she apply for work abroad.
“I have studied and worked for the past six years, so I have never been in this situation before,” Aulen said, describing it as an “emotional rollercoaster”.
Finland’s unemployment rate for people aged 15 to 74 reached 10.3 percent in October, the highest rate in the Nordic country since at least 2009, according to Statistics Finland.
Figures from the European statistics agency Eurostat showed Finland’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate hit 9.6 percent in September, the second highest in the EU after Spain’s 10.5 percent.
The EU average was six percent.
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