"The economic crisis in the United States is over and the USA is again strong", is the key messages that the independent Helsinki daily Helsingin Sanomat heard in President Barack Obama's State of the Union address during the early hours of Wednesday, Finnish time.
This paper says that for the first time in six years, Obama was able to appear before Congress as a leader no longer battling the effects of an economic crisis. He took advantage of the situation, and Helsingin Sanomat described his performance as very determined and optimistic.
It notes that Obama was able to list what it called "impressive" economic indicators: the economy is stronger than since 1999, dependence of imported oil is at its lowest in 30 years and the rate of unemployment is lower than before the financial crisis of 2008. At the beginning of Obama's first term, unemployment stood at 10%. Now it is 5.6%
Helsingin Sanomat does not believe that any of the new plans announced by Obama will be passed by Congress as such, but the upcoming presidential elections will force the Republicans to consider counter-proposals aimed at improving the position of the middle class.
Unemployment worries
New data show an increase in the jobless rate at the end of last year in Finland. According to Statistics Finland the unemployment rate at the end of December was 8.8 percent, nearly one percentage point higher than a year earlier. Data from the Employment Ministry also showed increases in the number of long-term unemployed and jobless young adults compared to the end of 2013.
The economic and business daily Kauppalehti told readers on Wednesday that these figures only confirm what was expected: unemployment is getting worse.
It pointed out that Employment Ministry statistics showed that there were 363 300 unemployed jobseekers in the country in December and that represents 36 800 more than just one month earlier.
According to Kauppalehti, the impact of the current recession in the Finnish economy already matches that of the depression of the 1990s, except that luckily the rate of unemployment has not risen to the heights seen then. In part, the paper attributes this to the fact that the labour force, in all age groups, is better educated than it was then. In addition, a growth in the service sector has helped keep unemployment in check.
On the same subject, Kaleva, a daily published in Oulu, pointed out that the latest report on employment by the UN's International Labour Organization, the ILO, is more optimistic about developments in Finland, forecasting that by the end of 2019, the rate of unemployment will fall to 7.6%, the same level as registered in 2006.
In contrast, the ILO forecast for neighbouring Sweden is a rise in unemployment to 8.3% by 2019.
Most satisfied residents
Several papers, including the tabloid Iltalehti, today reported the results an annual survey of satisfaction with the municipality services, conducted by the independent assessment group EPSI Finland.
For 2014, the highest score for local resident satisfaction went to Pirkkala, a municipality of around 19,000 people, 10 km south-west of Tampere, with 83.2 points on a scale of 0 - 100, on which 75 is considered "good".
The second highest rating (79.3) came from residents of Siilinjärvi, in North Savo, and the third was seen in Lieto in the south-west.
The survey indicates that people living in the region around Turku are comfortable with the services they receive, with three nearby municipalities, Naantali, Lieto and Kaarina all getting high ratings from residents. On the other hand, Turku at 67.4 was ranked by residents as only satisfactory.
Few Finns, only about 30%, say that they would recommend their municipalities as a place to live to outsiders.
Municipal satisfaction 2014 - Top 10
Pirkkala 83.2
Siilinjärvi 79.3
Lieto 78.6
Naantali 78.1
Kaarina 76.9
Hyvinkää 72.2
Tampere 71.8
Lempäälä 71.5
Helsinki 71.2
Rauma 71.0
Careful where you park
If you don't want the local municipality digging deeper into your wallet for services, it's a good idea to stay out of the way of the snowploughs.
An example is a heads-up to residents in Tampere on Wednesday by the daily Aamulehti which reported that today and tomorrow, and again next week on Tuesday and Wednesday, snowploughs will be clearing some of the city's more narrow streets - and if your car in parked where the ploughs are working, you will face a 100 euro payment for having it towed out of the way.
The item includes a map of tow zones and links to further relevant city information.