Record Unemployment in the World's Happiest Country: What's the Culprit?

Finland, the world’s happiest country, is now grappling with record unemployment. According to new OECD data, Helsinki recorded a rise in unemployment to 10.7% as of April 2026. This fact places Finland among the developed OECD member countries with the highest unemployment rates, alongside Spain, with a double-digit rate. This is far above the stable OECD average of 5%. According to the group, this condition indicates that the Finnish labour market has not fully recovered, even though several other European countries are beginning to show stabilisation. “Finland’s economic weakening has also suppressed job creation,” the OECD stated in its report. “Weak economic growth, energy cost pressures, and weakening household consumption are making it difficult for the labour market to improve,” it added. In its latest economic projection, Finland is expected to grow by only around 0.8% in 2026, while the unemployment rate is forecast to remain above 10% in the short term. Finland’s poor unemployment figures have been evident since January. Eurostat noted that this situation marks Finland’s highest unemployment rate since the aftermath of the global financial crisis in 2009 and reflects the country’s poor economic conditions compared to other EU member states. “For comparison, the unemployment rate in the Netherlands in November was only 4%, while the EU average is 6%,” Yle reported in January. “Long-term trends also show that countries in southern Europe that traditionally have high unemployment rates—such as Spain and Greece—have significantly improved their situation over the past decade,” it added. “At the same time, the trend in Finland—and also Sweden—has moved in the opposite direction.”