Service sectors challenged by second wave of coronavirus
The second wave of corona will turn unemployment into growth, says Antti Veirto, PAM's Research Manager. Photo: Eeva Anundi
The second wave of the coronavirus pandemic threatens to increase unemployment in the hospitality sector again. The numbers have come down from the worst peaks in the spring and summer, but the trend is once again showing a turn for the worse.
Statistics Finland published the latest Labour Force Survey on Tuesday 24 November. As a result of the emergency caused by the pandemic in spring this year, unemployment rose sharply in the hospitality sector.
"The unemployment situation in the sector improved in the summer, when the pandemic was under control in Finland. However, at no stage has unemployment gone down to where it was at the start of the year. The latest statistics show that the worsening second wave of the pandemic and the restrictive measures it required began to be reflected in higher unemployment in the sector from October", says PAM’s research manager Antti Veirto.
PAM has called for clear and practical rules, especially for the tourism sector, and for safety guidelines that are easy for tourists to understand. In its statement to the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, the union has stressed that restrictions imposed by the authorities must be proportionate to competitor countries and that it must be possible for tourists to travel to Finland safely.
Read PAM's statement to Ministry of Social Affairs and Health on the draft Government's proposal to Parliament for a law temporarily amending the Communicable Diseases Act.
Read about the effects of the corona pandemic (in Finnish) on PAM members. The content has been updated for the end of autumn.