Espoo’s population grows as unemployment rises

By admin On Mar 14, 2025

Pedestrians in Suvela, Espoo, on 6 March 2025. LEHTIKUVA

Espoo’s population reached 321,490 at the end of January 2025, according to preliminary data from Statistics Finland. The city’s population grew by approximately 460 residents during the month, slightly more than in January 2024.

International migration accounted for 62.1% of the growth. Natural population increase contributed 24.7%, while migration between municipalities added 13.2%.

The city’s natural population growth remained positive, with 90 more births than deaths. In contrast, Finland’s overall population change was negative in 2024, with 14,300 more deaths than births.

Migration within Finland brought about 150 more people to Espoo than in the same period last year, while net immigration was 50 people lower. Natural population increase declined slightly compared to the previous year.

At the end of January 2025, Espoo had 17,996 unemployed residents, with an unemployment rate of 10.9%. Nationally, the rate stood at 12.0%. Among Espoo’s unemployed, 1,548 were under 25, while 5,568 were aged 50 or older. Women accounted for 46% of the unemployed, and 6,489 people had been without work for over a year. There were 1,717 open job listings in Espoo’s employment services.

Unemployment has been rising since March 2023 after nearly two years of decline. Compared to January 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic affected the job market, the unemployment rate in Espoo was 3.3 percentage points higher, with 6,904 more job seekers.

Year-on-year, the number of unemployed people in Espoo rose by 20.6% (3,078 more people). The unemployment rate increased by 1.6 percentage points. Across Finland, unemployment was up 11.9% from the previous year. The number of job seekers under 25 in Espoo rose by 27.9% (338 more people), while long-term unemployment increased by 30.2% (1,505 more people). The number of open job vacancies fell by 28.6% (689 fewer jobs) compared to January 2024.

Job openings in Espoo increased from early 2021 until autumn 2022 but have declined since November 2022.

Source: www.helsinkitimes.fi