Some lost their jobs, and in many cases, a member of a family who earned the bread for all, the only source of livelihood. These may have been people on whose shoulders was the responsibility of raising a wife and multiple kids and in several cases, pragmatically speaking, the task of earning for parents as well. But to those who weren’t as trounced by poor or harsh luck so as to be losing their jobs, must have suffered from a serious slash of their salaries or earnings. The COVID-riddled period has spared no one, affecting every little part of the world, not just physically but financially too. And if the finances are troubled or suffer from woeful turn of events, it directly causes a challenge to one’s physical and mental well-being and health too, isn’t it? Yet, there comes a piece of news from the fairway Nordic land of Finland, which truth be told saw some bright and prosperous times recently.
So this brings us to the key question- what was it about Finland and the much-wanted dose of positivity that has favourably affected the country even in an era where one’s finding hard to count the positives, let alone contemplating about them (with a sense of gladness)?
Apparently, the month of June, 2021 proved to be a very memorable and gifted period in the journey of Finland, that much like other European nations, suffered adversely from the COVID-marred pandemic, enforcing multiple lockdowns.
So how exactly was that?
Amid a global narrative focusing on the sheer dearth of jobs and vocation-related tensions unleashed by the COVID pandemic which rendered a fatal blow to the world economy, Finland, on the other hand experienced a fantastic period marked by tremendous new jobs and job openings.
And the one single month, which became a catalyst for this divine change of events and fortunes, was June of 2021.
Here’s what the Helsinki Times reported on the developing story, a mega positive from the country of Nokia, Sauna, fishing, rally sports and the undeniable love for Taytekakku!
The Ministry of Employment and the Economy has published statistics revealing that more than 64,500 job openings were unfilled at the end of June, representing the highest reading for the month since the statistics were first compiled in early 2006. At the moment, the trend of the employment rate stands at 72. 4 per cent. Meanwhile, the following is important to note-
The figures are disconcerting, according to Sami Pakarinen, a director at the Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK). “If you look at how many job openings there are relative to unemployed job seekers, we’re actually very close to the peak seen at the end of the previous economic upswing,” he commented to the newspaper.
Labour shortage has worsened particularly in manufacturing, with the number of job openings surging by 135 per cent year-on-year to almost 3,000 in late June.
The number of openings in the tourism and restaurant sector has similarly increased rapidly, rising by 96 per cent to over 2,700 in late June. The absolute number of openings in the sector was the highest in Uusimaa, following a 95-per-cent up-tick from June 2020. The number of openings relative to population, in turn, was the highest in Kanta-Häme
.