According to data from Statistics Finland, in 2022, 27 % of the unemployment periods of non-EU technology professionals in Finland lasted for over six months. For Finnish technology professionals the number was 23 %. When considering the 3-month unemployment periods, these values sit at 45% and 53% respectively. Only unemployment periods that ended in self-obtained work were considered.
Under the government proposal, non-EU specialists on work permits who are unemployed for longer than six months would be at risk of deportation.
| Length of the unemployment period | Finnish, Engineers | Non-EU, Engineers | Finnish, Other professionals | Non-EU, Other professionals |
| Over 3 months | 45 % | 53 % | 35% | 48% |
| Over 6 months | 23 % | 27 % | 18% | 27% |
Source: Statistics Finland, unemployment periods that ended in self-obtained work, 2022.
Comparing these values to those in professional occupations with educational backgrounds other than technology, the difficulty in job hunting as an engineer is visible. For Finnish non-technology professionals, unemployment lasted longer than 6 months only 18% of the time, and longer than 3 months 35% of the time. For those from outside the EU, 27% and 48% lasted over six- and three-months respectively.
Comparing these values to those in professional occupations with educational backgrounds other than technology, the difficulty in job hunting as an engineer is visible. For Finnish non-technology professionals, unemployment lasted longer than 6 months only 18% of the time, and longer than 3 months 35% of the time. For those from outside the EU, 27% and 48% lasted over six- and three-months respectively.
It can also be seen that the difference between Finnish and non-EU workers is lower in those with engineering backgrounds compared to other professionals, pointing to additional non-nationality related factors in the length of unemployment for technology professionals.
Taking a longer perspective, the numbers from the last five years are consistent, disregarding 2020.
TEK opposes the proposed 3- or 6-month unemployment rule
As in the above data, over one in four technology experts would have to leave Finland after becoming unemployed. In recent years, the field of technology has internationalized rapidly, and around one in ten graduate engineers has an international background according to population statistics. This policy would have a serious impact on this progress.
"Tech experts are often very specialized in their field. Suitable jobs may not come along very often. On the other hand, when an open position is found, the recruitment processes are long and multi-phased, because employers want to avoid expensive mistakes in recruitments", says TEK's Innovation and Economic Policy Expert Mikko Särelä.
"The job seekers themselves have extremely few opportunities to influence the length of the recruitment process, even if they are well integrated and active. That is why the six-month time limit seems unfair."
The other proposed time limit of 3 months would have an even bigger impact, considering that 53 % of the unemployment periods of non-EU technology professionals lasted longer than three months.
Owain Hopeaketo, the project manager for international experts at TEK, considers the unemployment rule as potentially severely damaging to not just non-Finnish TEK members, but also Finland’s reputation.
"Our recent survey shows that currently 89% of international professionals are worried about the immigration debate and only 52% would recommend Finland as a country to work and live in. For a country like Finland, meeting our labour shortage requires being attractive, and proposals like this damage that."
TEK suggests that the protection period should be at least 12 months. TEK also presents the possibility of extending the time limits based on, for example, evidence of long application times.
“The people impacted is wider than just those shown in the unemployment data. We are going to have a situation where every person who becomes unemployed is wondering if the risk of staying is worth it. At the least, we need more realistic time periods to combat that”.
Read more about the unemployment periods in this visualisation