The number of people working in June was up by 52,000 compared to a year earlier - and nearly all of them were women. The number of employed men, on the other hand, remained almost unchanged, Statistics Finland reported on Tuesday.

In June, the employment rate rose to 76.9 percent from 75.8 percent in mid-2021.

The employment rate of women rose by two percentage points while that of men basically flatlined.

On a year-over-year basis, employment increased.

Nevertheless, the unemployment rate increased slightly from the previous month. The seasonally adjusted trend of the unemployment rate was 6.4 percent in June, one tenth of a percentage point higher than in May.

Many workers switching fields

Altogether in June, there were 2.73 million people working while 200,000 were looking for jobs. Year-over-year there were 21,000 fewer jobseekers.

Meanwhile many Finnish companies report difficulties in finding qualified staff. In sectors such as hospitality, tourism and events, where many workers lost their jobs during the pandemic, companies have been unable to recruit them back, despite a sudden increase in demand.

Some workers have switched to other fields, with employment in social care, administration and support service sectors, for instance, seeing an increase.