Government to tackle youth unemployment in selected areas of Finland’s largest cities

The Government will launch a pilot project to reduce youth unemployment in selected areas of 11 Finnish cities with particularly high levels of youth unemployment.

On 22 October 2026, the Government adopted a decree under which the employment authorities in selected cities may apply for discretionary government grants for projects aimed at promoting youth employment. The cities are Espoo, Helsinki, Joensuu, Jyväskylä, Kuopio, Lahti, Oulu, Pori, Tampere, Turku and Vantaa.

The projects will be targeted at young people aged 18–29 who are not in education, employment or training.

The employment authorities will implement the projects in selected areas of the 11 cities with the highest levels of youth unemployment and the greatest need for support. The projects aim to improve employment outcomes for the target group and support young people’s integration into working life, education and services that promote wellbeing through multidisciplinary cooperation.

“We must find new ways to reduce youth unemployment. The purpose of these pilots is to strengthen young people’s working life skills and create new pathways into the labour market, particularly for those who are currently not in education, employment or training,” says Minister of Employment Matias Marttinen.

The pilot projects will be monitored and evaluated to identify effective practices that can be shared with other employment authorities and cities across Finland to help prevent youth unemployment and improve young people’s employment prospects.

The decree implements a decision taken by Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s Government at its spring 2026 spending limits session to launch a pilot project in selected areas aimed at reducing youth unemployment in Finland’s six largest cities and other cities with high levels of youth unemployment.