The world is experiencing unparalleled population aging. Source: World Health Organization
Finland’s population is aging faster than anywhere else in Europe. More than 20,000 working-age people are disappearing every year, and by 2030, the country could have up to 150,000 fewer working-age people than today.
The financial basis of the welfare state is faltering and one in three Finnish companies says that a labor shortage is limiting growth. The equation is stark: without new workers and taxpayers, there will be no growth.
Today, up to half of the employees are of foreign origin. International experts are involved in over 60 percent of the patents created in Finland, and entrepreneurs with an immigrant background generate a total annual turnover of over four billion euros.
They also start companies relatively more often. The situation shows both the desire and the ability to take responsibility and create something new.
Still, the employment rate varies depending on the basis on which the country was entered. For those with a work permit or an EU background, it rises to around 80 percent after 10 years, for those who came for family reasons or through studies, it averages 70 percent, and for those who have received international protection, it remains at around 60 percent.
Due to the low employment rate, the groups that have moved to Finland for humanitarian reasons are highlighted among recipients of social security. This is a statistical fact, but it does not say anything about people’s motivation or skills.
So, what should we conclude from this?
At least not that the solution can be found by cutting benefits or weakening integration services, as some politicians have suggested. Studies show that the path of cuts leads to a dead end.
In Finland, it has been observed that participating in integration strengthens the labor market position of both immigrants and their children.
Denmark has already tried cutting benefits: employment rose temporarily, but the effect disappeared within five years.
Many women permanently withdrew from working life, children’s educational levels declined, and the long-term costs to society increased.
Make Sense
The solution cannot be found in blaming immigrants or cutting integration services, but neither can unrealistic promises that present immigration as a magic bullet.
Real change requires bold and goal-oriented decision-making – one that also includes those who immigrated.
What is essential is whether all immigration is seen as leading to work or entrepreneurship, and whether integration and support mechanisms are planned accordingly.
Refugees are often infantilized and treated as recipients of support, not as active actors who would have the desire and ability to build a common future.
Fortunately, people can quickly catch up with society when integration is based on concrete work and entrepreneurship opportunities and takes place alongside the majority population, not in separate silos and classrooms.
Source: Kauppalehti (in Finnish)