Finland's unemployment rate will hover about 10.2 percent this year before falling to 9.8 percent next year and to 9.3 percent in 2028, according to the ministry's figures.File photo of an employment services office. Image: Jorge González / YleYle News12:03Finland's jobs market will begin to slowly pick up later this year, but the country's unemployment rate will remain high.That's according to the latest labour market forecast, published by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment on Tuesday.According to the ministry's predictions, the unemployment rate this year will hover about 10.2 percent before falling to 9.8 percent next year and to 9.3 percent in 2028.These latest figures suggest a much slower and more protracted recovery for the Finnish jobs market than the ministry previously predicted last autumn — with the ministry's press release noting that the unemployment rate will remain high due to the continued growth of the labour force."The supply of labour has increased considerably whereas the demand for it has remained subdued. In particular, the workforce has grown because of the increased participation of older people in the labour market," the statement said.The ministry's forecast suggests Finland will have about 342,000 unemployed jobseekers this year before the figure drops very slightly to 338,000 people next year and to 324,000 in 2028.However, Finland's working-age population is also not expected to grow significantly over the coming years. This will be driven in particular by an expected drop in work-based immigration as well as a decline in the number of Ukrainians receiving temporary protection.Long-term unemployment decliningThe ministry also predicts a slow decline in the number of long-term unemployed people over the coming 2-3 years."According to the current forecast, the number of long-term unemployed people would rise to around 144,000 people in summer 2026, but would start to fall after that," the ministry said.The number of people considered to be long-term unemployed — meaning someone who has been out of work for at least a year — climbed to 138,000 at the start of this year.This figure is expected to fall to 129,000 by 2028.Yle News reporter Ronan Browne recently visited an innovative pilot project in Tampere that aims to help highly-educated, long-term unemployed people get back on their feet.