2017.05.2402:54:00UTC+00Finland Jobless Rate Rises For Second Month

Finland's unemployment rate increased for the second straight month in April, figures from Statistics Finland showed Wednesday.

The jobless rate climbed to 10.2 percent in April from 9.6 percent in March. In the corresponding month last year, the rate was 9.8 percent.

Moreover, the latest unemployment rate was the highest since May 2016, when it was 10.8 percent.

The number of unemployed people rose to 279,000 in April from 260,000 in the prior month. A year ago, the jobless figure totaled 264,000.

The youth unemployment rate, which applies to the 15 to 24 age group, rose to 27.4 percent in April from 23.9 percent in the prior month.

The employment rate came in at 59.5 percent in April, up slightly from 59.4 percent in March.

At the same time, the seasonally adjusted jobless rate held steady at 8.9 percent in April.