Unemployment rate in Finland increased marginally in April from a year earlier, data from Statistics Finland showed Tuesday.
The jobless rate rose to 8.8 percent as expected in April from 8.4 percent recorded in the same month last year. In March, the statistical office reported an unemployment rate of 9 percent.
The unemployment rate for youth in the age group of 15-24 was 24.4 percent in April, which was 0.9 percentage points higher than last year. The number of unemployed persons in April was 239,000, an increase of 13,000 over the last year.
Total employment level was unchanged from April 2012. During the month, employment in the private sector increased compared with last year, but there was a decline in staff levels in public sector firms.
According to data published by the Employment Service Statistics of the Ministry of Employment and the Economy, there were 279,000 job seekers in the country at the end of April. This exceeded last year's figure by 40,000.
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