Employment in Finland was flat from a year earlier, while the number of unemployed people rose by 20,000, according to Statistics Finland.There were 5,000 fewer employed men and 5,000 more employed women than in July 2025. Image: Esa Syväkuru / YleYle News12:06The number of unemployed people in Finland increased by 20,000 in July compared with the same month last year, according to Statistics Finland's latest Labour Force Survey.The increase was driven by a sharp rise in female joblessness.There were 24,000 more unemployed women in July than a year earlier, while the number of unemployed men fell by 4,000.Despite this, men still accounted for a slightly larger share of the jobless overall. There were 150,000 unemployed men, compared with 139,000 women.The unemployment rate for men was 10.0 percent, down 0.2 percentage points from the previous year. For women, the unemployment rate was 9.8 percent, up 1.5 percentage points."Unemployment is still at an ugly level, but today's figures do not solely reflect a weakening labour market," Elias Erämaja, chief economist at the Finnish Business and Policy Forum (EVA), said in a statement.The number of employed people remained unchanged from a year ago, at 2.637 million, while the size of the labour force has increased, Erämaja said. According to him, the rise in unemployment is partly explained by people returning to the labour market.The trend unemployment rate for people aged 15–74 was 10.5 percent in July. The trend figure excludes seasonal and random fluctuations.There were a total of 289,000 unemployed in July.Despite the high level of unemployment, some economists are finding positive signs in the labour market."There are already some interesting bright spots in demand for labour. In construction, there were 1,400 more vacancies in the spring than a year earlier," Juho Keskinen, chief economist at the Finnish Mortgage Society (Hypo), said in a statement.