Finland's economy and jobs scene in 2021 as it is today

Finland, the happiest nation in the world, is an ideal destination for more reasons than one. Besides the prospect of high-quality life, the country’s appeal with its robust economy and employment opportunities have been driving factors for migrants.

In the current situation, with COVID-19 making a big impact on the economy, the country’s performance can be evaluated to learn more about its economic and employment scenario.

Finland has been on a path of recovery. It’s been powered by the exceptional performance of the economy in the second half of 2020. It’s expected that economic growth in 2021 will be higher than the 2020 forecast. Finland’s economy is doing great even in the face of the worsening condition of COVID-19 in early 2021. Finland’s economy is expected to grow by 2.6% this year.

Finland is expecting a high level of growth based on the assumption that people can get more mobility and businesses can open up more with increased vaccinations. The economic recovery will continue in 2022 when GDP growth is expected to reach 2.7%. In 2023 however, the speed of growth could dip to 1.2%. The decline in the working-age population will be the contributing factor to this, combined with weak growth in productivity.

In fact, the signs of easing of the COVID-19 pandemic in the initial weeks of 2021, gradual rollback of containment measures, progress in vaccinations, and the support of a strong economic policy have pushed the revised growth levels of Finland’s export markets upwards.

Finland’s growth will be propelled by private consumption in 2021. In the first half of 2021, the increase in COVID-19 levels in the first half of 2021 will limit the chances of spending. This will happen despite introducing new and safer practices that suit the COVID-19 conditions. However, the increase in COVID-19 vaccination coverage gives hope for reaching the end of the pandemic at a point in the future. This will be followed by a tremendous growth in private consumption. It will continue to be strong in 2022.

In 2020, the rate of employment in Finland decreased by under 1%. It reached 71.6% last year. It’s expected to return to pre-pandemic levels in 2022. The most loss of jobs was seen in the service sector. There’s uncertainty looming around the impact of the third wave of COVID-19 on employment and business activity. Yet, it’s expected that there will be growth in employment in the service sector after the pandemic crisis ends.

Going ahead, this growth in employment will be met with challenges like slow growth of the economy, and the decrease in the working-age population. At this point, there could be a rising demand for skilled foreigners who are ready to work overseas.

In 2020, due to the decline in energy prices, inflation of consumer prices slowed down. However, it’s expected to pick up in 2021 to 1.3%. This will be a reflection of higher prices of energy fuels along with other temporary factors. In the period of 2022 to 2023, inflation will be sustained by an increase in the prices of services.

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