Finland's year-on-year rate of inflation was 8.4 percent in January, according to preliminary figures published by Statistics Finland on Monday.
The comparative rise in consumer prices had hit 9.1 percent in December, but Statistics Finland noted that the slowdown at the beginning of this year has been driven by a less-dramatic spike in the price of electricity compared to previous months.
Jukka Appelqvist, Chief Economist at the Central Chamber of Commerce, wrote on Twitter that the latest figures suggest that Finland has passed "peak inflation".
"The difference to December's reading is clear and undeniable, although not all that surprising. Prices rose so fast last year that the pace had to level off," Appelqvist said.
Overall, the rise in consumer prices during January compared to the same month last year was driven in particular by the price of electricity, the average interest rate on housing loans and consumer credits, as well as the price of diesel.
However, the inflation rate was curbed somewhat by a "milder rise in electricity prices" as well as by real estate prices, Statistics Finland outlined in its report.
The month-on-month change in consumer prices stood at 0.6 percent,
Increase in job vacancies last year
A separate report published by Statistics Finland on Monday revealed that there were more job vacancies during 2022 compared to the previous year.
Overall, the average number of job vacancies last year was 68,300, based on averages of quarterly figures, while in 2021 that figure was just over 58,000.
The report further noted that the increase was driven in particular by job vacancy announcements in the Helsinki metropolitan and Uusimaa region, up by nearly 4,000 compared to 2021.
Nearly three quarters of the jobs on offer were in the private sector, the report added, while about 31 percent of all vacancies were temporary and 17 percent were part-time.
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