The Helsinki-Uusimaa Regional Council says in a press release published on 2 June 2020 that the interest rate pandemic is hitting the municipal finances of Uusimaa hard. According to data collected by the Uusimaa Federation from municipalities, the restriction measures caused by the interest rate pandemic will weaken the finances of the municipalities in the province by around EUR 1 billion during the current year. This figure is more than half of the interest loss in the country's municipal sector.
- We expect that the government's future supplementary budget proposals will include provisions for substantial compensation for Uusimaa's municipalities," says Ossi Savolainen, Regional Director of Uusimaa.
Significant employment effects
The direct employment effects of the interest rate pandemic in Uusimaa are severe. The situation is different from the rest of the country.
For example, unemployment has risen more sharply overall than elsewhere. Unemployment is particularly high for the highly skilled. The service and tourism sectors in particular have been hit particularly hard. The construction sector, on the other hand, has so far been largely unaffected by the crisis.
Up to 230 000 workers have been under threat of redundancy in Uusimaa at most, which is about half the number in Finland as a whole. As many as 70 000 people were on lay-off at the end of May. A year earlier, there were 1 400 of them. The pace of change has been rapid, with only 3 000 laid off in February.
In Uusimaa, the layoffs are particularly severe in service and sales occupations. The share of young people among those made redundant is also more pronounced. For the coming summer, almost half fewer summer jobs for young people were advertised than in the previous year.
According to the Uusimaa Regional Council, the demand for labour has fallen especially in office and customer service jobs, processing and transport and sales.
Full press release from the Helsinki-Uusimaa Regional Council 2.6.2020
Results of the Municipal Economy Survey
The results of the economic survey were received from 22/26 municipalities in Uusimaa.
More information from the Uusimaa Regional Council:
Ossi Savolainen, County Director, tel. 040 589 8415
Director of Regional Development Juha Eskelinen, tel. 040 575 2993
Photo: Helsinki-Uusimaa Regional Council