Statistics on unemployment protection in Finland 
Producer
Kela - The Social Insurance Institution of Finland; Financial Supervisory Authority (FIN-FSA)
Description
The statistics on unemployment protection in Finland provide a general picture of income replacement in the event of unemployment. They include job alternation compensations and benefits paid during participation in active labour market measures. The data are compiled from the unemployment beneficiary registry of the Financial Supervisory Authority, the monthly statistics provided by unemployment funds or their payment systems to the FIN-FSA, and the unemployment registries of Kela.
Data content
Benefit recipients, days covered and benefits paid.
Classifications used
Type of benefit, basis of entitlement (benefit paid during unemployment or participation in active labour market measure), type of compensation (full benefit, adjusted benefit, etc.), length of unemployment, occupation (according to the Nordic Classification of Occupations), general regional classifications and general demographic classifications.
Data collection methods and data sources
Data on benefits paid by the unemployment funds are retrieved from the FIN-FSA’s unemployment beneficiary register, to which unemployment funds or their payment systems provide quarterly data on benefits and beneficiaries, and from monthly summary files on individual unemployment funds. The unemployment benefit statistics of Kela are compiled from individual-level statistical registers, which are based on benefit databases created in the course of administering unemployment benefit schemes.
Updating frequency
Published monthly and annually.
Time of completion or release
Monthly statistics on unemployment protection in Finland are published during the month following the statistical reference month, while the annual statistics come out in the autumn of the following year. Cross-sectional data are published four times a year. Other data are published later: the end-of-month numbers of recipients for each quarter are published about 4 months after the end of each quarter.
Time series
The statistics on unemployment protection are comparable from 1985 (the first year in which Kela paid unemployment benefits). In 1994, labour market subsidy was introduced and the eligibility criteria for the basic unemployment allowance were revised. In 2010, unemployment allowances became payable also during participation in measures of active labour market policy, and the training allowance and the training subsidy were discontinued as standalone benefits. There have additionally been several smaller legislative amendments.
Keywords
Unemployment protection, unemployment benefits, earnings-related income security, earnings-related unemployment allowance, Labour Market Subsidy, unemployment, unemployed persons.