The employment situation in Finland is continuing to improve despite mostly gloomy news on the economic front, according to reports reaching here from Helsinki.

A total of 38,000 more people had jobs and the number of unemployed remained static in November, as compared to figures for the same month of last year, Statistics Finland was quoted by Finnish public broadcaster YLE as saying.

In addition, the number of full-time employed is growing and part-time jobs are in decline, YLE reported, adding that there were 26,000 more over-50 year olds working in November of this year than 12 months earlier.

The level of employment was up by close to 1 percentage point at 69.8 percent. For young people that figure was 40.5 percent, the same as during the same period last year, said YLE.

The number of unemployed remained steady and the rate of unemployment declined by 0.1 percentage points to 6 percent, YLE added.

(Xinhua News Agency December 24, 2008)