Living and Working in Finland
Information for an EU Jobseeker
Updated in September 2010
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
(92%) and Swedish (5,5%)- religions: Evangelical-Lutherans
(80,6%), Orthodoxs (1,1%) (2008)
- member of the EU since 1995- foreign citizens 2,7% (mainly in
Helsinki metropolitan area) (2008)
- 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
76% of employees work under a permanent full time contract Some 15% of employees work under a fixed-term contract, c. two thirds of these are women Women generally participate in the labour market, their
employment rate being 68,5 %. Women are also mainly full-time employees. 21 % of jobs are part-time Some 75% of workers belong to a trade union Labour shortages and unemployment commonly occur
simultaneously in the Finnish labour market
Source: Statistics Finland 2009/08
Characteristics of the Finnish labour market
Employment and unemployment in August 2010 Employment rate 68,8% Unemployment rate 7,3, 197 000 unemployed (6 000 lower than one year earlier)
(OECD/ILO definition) 42 000 new vacancies at employment offices (8/2010)
Source: Labour Force Survey of Statistics Finland
Labour shortages
Most problematic sectors: health care and services
Shortages - registered nurse - teacher - psychologist - practical nurse- doctors - taxi driver- dentist - sales representative- sales agent - telesales person
Foreigners in Finland
2,7 % of the population are foreigners (155 705, 31.12.2009) Biggest nationality groups are Russians (28 210), Estonians (25 510), Swedes (8 506) and Somalis (5 570) The sectors with most foreign workers are agriculture & forestry, industry and construction 35 000 unemployed foreigners
National labour administration: www.mol.fi EURES Portal: http://eures.europa.eu Academic recruitment services: www.aarresaari.net Companies often recruit through their own internet sites.
Typical address is: www.companyname.fi List of 100 largest Finnish companies: www.uranus.fi Vacancies in the largest newspapers www.oikotie.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
Standard application procedures
CV and application letter - possibly also copies of school leaving certificates and references examples of CVs: http://europass.europa.eu employers usually choose 3 to 5 applicants to be interviewed certificates and references will be studied closely for demanding posts usually 2 to 3 interviews will be conducted; possible also an aptitude test some employers make only the final selection - the rest of the recruitment process may be outsourced
Practical training and studying
many practical training opportunities for international students and recent graduates in Finland Centre for International Mobility (CIMO) organizes many of the practical training programmes - see also student organisations like ELSA, IAAS, IFMSA, AIESEC Master Thesis/ Thesis co-operation available degree studying (Bachelor’s or Master’s degree) is free of charge
More information: CIMO - Centre for International Mobility www.studyinfinland.fi
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
magistrate/registration 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 If unemployed: Employment office www.mol.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)
Source: Statistics Finland
Examples of gross incomes
Income tax: Up to 6 months: tax at source 35%NB! Tax deduction of 510 € each month or 17 € per day for each working day More than 6 months: progressive income tax
Average Finnish salary 2 862 €/month (34 344 €/year):the share of taxes and compulsory contributions is between 21 and 26.5 %*
More information: www.vero.fi
* local taxes vary from one city/municipality to the other; in addition, members of the Finnish Lutheran/ Orthodox church pay a church tax (1 – 2,25%)
Taxation
Where to look for?
Internet portals: www.oikotie.fi, www.etuovi.com Yellow pages: www.keltaisetsivut.fi Private companies: e.g. www.sato.fi, www.yh.fi Newspapers: www.sanomalehdet.fi Information about housing in Finland: www.housing.fi Municipalities in Finland: www.kunnat.net Youth hostels: www.srmnet.org
Accommodation
How much will it cost?
Average rent for a two room flat (50 m²): 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
Selected mean prices (€)Whole milk/ l 0,89
Butter/ 500 g 2,29
Cheese, Emmenthal/ 1 kg 12,86
Eggs/ 1 kg 2,99Potatoes/ 1 kg 0,76
Wheat flour/ 2 kg 1,21
Wheat bread/ 500 kg 1,60
Beef, ground kg 8,97
Beef roast/ kg 12,62
Sausage/kg 3,95Tuna fish, tinned/ 150 g 1,33
Coffee, packaged/ 500 g 2,78
Caster sugar/ kg 1,01
Oranges 1,42Petrol 95E 1,29l line across a time series shows substantial breaks in the homogeneity of a series1) From 2002, steak, ground.2) Petrol 92.
Selected mean prices (€)Selected mean prices (€)
Statistics Finland
Information of living and working, vacancies: http://eures.europa.eu
Detailed information for foreign workers: www.mol.fi/finnwork, www.infopankki.fi
Studying and practical training:www.studyinfinland.fi
General information: http://virtual.finland.fi
Welcome to Finland!
Raila Uusi-Vähälä and Piia HuhtanenEURES FINLAND
Further information: