To close the labor gap, Finland not only needs highly qualified immigrants, but also workers with a lower level of education, who will in turn be key to keeping basic services running.
Because of Finland’s aging population pyramid and low birth rate, the country is in dire need to receive three times the number of immigrants it currently receives, with the aim of boosting growth and improving public finance revenues, according to the independent ETLA Institute for Economic Research.
In a new report titled “Immigration, Labor Force Appropriateness, and the Effects of Economic Assessment,” Finland’s need for a new workforce is shown to increase tax revenues and ensure continuity of social welfare.
The report warned that the percentage of the country’s labor force will decline by 20 percent by 2070, if Finland maintains the level of accepting the current number of immigrants annually, which is an average of 15,000 immigrants.
According to the research institution, Finland should increase the number of immigrants coming to it annually by 44,000 people without delay, and not wait until 2030, the year in which the current government said it aims to increase the number of immigrants, who represent the labor force, to 50,000 people. annually.
To close the employment gap, Finland not only needs highly qualified immigrants, but also workers with a lower level of education, who will in turn be key to keeping basic services running.
It is expected that the immigration file will be a major subject of discussion during the period leading up to the legislative elections next April. Unlike most other large political parties, the nationalist and populist Finns (currently third in opinion polls at 18 percent) will allow qualified workers from the EU to enter Finland.
