In 2019, the number of vacancies increased from the previous year. The Employment and Economy Development Offices had a total of 837,700 vacancies in 2019, up by 103,300 on the previous year. The number of new vacancies reported to Employment and Economic Development Offices during the year totalled 789,000, which is 96,000 more than in 2018. During 2019, 129,600 of the vacancies were filled. Compared to the previous year, the number of vacancies increased most in the area of the Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment (ELY Centre) for Uusimaa (47,400), North Ostrobothnia (10,500), Pirkanmaa (9,000) and North Savo (8,500) and in craft and related trades workers (26 %), skilled agricultural, forestry and fishery workers (23 %), elementary occupations (23 %), plant and machine operators, and assemblers (14 %) and service and sales workers (14 %). On average, the number of vacancies per month during 2019 amounted to 127,000, of which 65,700 were new vacancies.

In 2019, the number of jobseekers registered at Employment and Economic Development Offices totalled 769,400, down 29,100 on the previous year. The number of jobseekers decreased in areas of all ELY Centres. The decrease was greatest in Pirkanmaa (-8%), Lapland (-8%), South Ostrobothnia (-6%), Southeast Finland (5 %) and Kainuu (-5%). When examined by occupational group, the number of jobseekers decreased from the previous year in 10 groups, the greatest decrease being in the groups of professionals (-8 %), clerical support workers (7 %), technicians and associate professionals (-6 %), skilled agricultural, forestry and fishery workers (6 %), service and sales workers (-6 %) and elementary occupations (-6 %). The average duration of a job-seeking period was 68 weeks. During 2019, a total of 874,500, job-seeking periods were completed, 41 per cent of them ending with employment in the open labour market. In 2019, the average number of jobseekers at the end of the month was 528,100, representing a decrease of 27,600 on the previous year.

The number of unemployed jobseekers decreased in 2019. A total of 563,100 people were registered as unemployed jobseekers in 2019, which is 21,600 fewer than in the previous year. Compared to 2018, the number of unemployed jobseekers decreased in the areas of all ELY Centres: the decrease was greatest in Lapland (-8%), Kainuu (-7%), Ostrobothnia (-6%), Southeast Finland (-5%) and South Ostrobothnia (5%). Of all the unemployed jobseekers, 54 per cent were men. The most-affected age group was 25 to 34-year-olds, representing 25 per cent of those unemployed. The majority of unemployed jobseekers had upper secondary level qualifications (51%). The average duration of completed spells of unemployment was 21 weeks, while for continuing spells of unemployment the average duration was 49 weeks. In 2019, 58 per cent of unemployed people had been at work before their spell of unemployment began. Correspondingly, 41 per cent of completed spells 585,000 of unemployment during the year ended with employment in the open labour market. In 2019, a total of 240,400, people on average were registered as unemployed jobseekers at the end of the month, a decrease of 15,500 people on the previous year.