In December, Finland experienced a continued decrease in producer prices for the fifth consecutive month, albeit at a reduced rate compared to prior months, according to data from Statistics Finland released on Friday.
Additionally, official statistics indicated that the unemployment rate remained unchanged for the third consecutive month in December.
The producer price index recorded a 0.8 percent decline on a year-over-year basis in December, which is a slight improvement from the 1.5 percent decrease observed in November.
The reduction in producer prices was primarily driven by declines in the prices of electricity, oil products, and chemicals and chemical products compared to the previous year, according to the agency. Conversely, the decrease in overall prices was mitigated by rising prices in pulp, timber, and precious metals.
Domestically, producer prices fell by 2.1 percent on an annual basis, whereas export product prices increased by 0.9 percent.
On a monthly comparison, producer prices saw a modest increase of 0.1 percent in December, following a 0.3 percent rise in the prior month.
Furthermore, data reveals that export prices grew by 0.9 percent from the previous year, whilst import prices dropped by 2.2 percent.
The unemployment rate for the age group of 15-74 was steady at 8.1 percent in December, identical to the rates observed in the preceding three months. However, in December of the previous year, the unemployment rate was lower, at 7.1 percent. The total number of unemployed individuals reached 226,000 in December, compared to 199,000 in the same month the previous year.
Between October and December 2024, the index of wage and salary earnings, which tracks the rise in nominal earnings for full-time employees, increased by 2.7 percent compared to the same period in 2023.
