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: