Since 2021 a trial shifting most responsibility for employment services to municipalities has shown good results, according to Eija Väätäinen, who heads the project in Vantaa and Kerava.
However, she adds that long-term unemployment is still a haunting problem.
"For many, the setbacks caused by coronavirus seem to be long-lasting," Väätäinen says.
There are currently about 5,500 long-term unemployed in Vantaa and well over 13,000 unemployed jobseekers in total.
Väätäinen notes that the impact of the Covid epidemic on air traffic was a severe blow nationwide, but especially to employment in the Vantaa region where Finland's largest and busiest airport is located.
Same pace as in Helsinki
Väätäinen says that despite the city's special difficulties, Vantaa has seen positive development in the overall situation. The unemployment rate is currently 10.5 percent, down about five percentage points from a year ago.
Vantaa has managed to improve its employment rate at about the same pace as Helsinki and Espoo.
"I think it will ease even more, because the number of job vacancies is on a steady rise," says Väätäinen.
However, she does acknowledge that there is a continuing problem with the gap between many jobseekers' qualifications and the types of workers that employers are looking for.
"Means to find employment for jobseekers continue to be sought, for example through [expanded] training," says Väätäinen.