The service sector in Finland is suffering from a prolonged labour shortage, with employers saying there are simply not enough jobseekers or their skills do not match the needs of the business.
A report published in April by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment found that the number of sectors suffering from labour shortages has risen to pre-Covid pandemic levels, with the restaurant and construction industries new additions to the list.
During the worst stages of the Covid pandemic, Finnish employment services received notification of approximately 1,200 vacancies per month, but that number had risen to as many as 3,200 vacancies per month by 2022.
While the service industry as a whole is struggling to find workers, the restaurant industry is the worst affected, with the report characterising its staff shortage as "severe".
The issue was further reflected in a Monday statement by Finnish retail and services cooperative S-Group, which announced that it would close a dozen of its restaurants in the capital region this summer, partly due to staff shortages.
Meanwhile, a report in May by Finnish employers' groups found that half of all surveyed service companies had trouble recruiting workers.
Tatu Rauhamäki, Director of Business Policy at Palta, an employers' group for the service sector, said that the debate on skills shortages in Finland often goes off on the wrong track.
"We are not just talking about top talent, we need all kinds of people," Rauhamäki said, adding that for the issue to be resolved, more steps must be taken to hire more foreign labour and to recruit those already in the country.