Monday, 16 January 2017

Will Finland's basic income trial help the jobless?

Liisa Ronkainen"I was so surprised when I got the letter, and a bit sceptical too," says Liisa Ronkainen, one of 2,000 Finns chosen for a government experiment to provide unemployed people with a basic income.
Out of work for half a year, Liisa, 26 and from Helsinki, has been looking for a job without success.
"While I'm unemployed I will only get €36 more per month with the basic income. I've always been positive about the idea, though, so it was nice to be one of those who were chosen."
Basic income has frequently been suggested as a way of cutting welfare bureaucracy as well as poverty.
But one of the main reasons why Finland's social insurance agency Kela is trying out the monthly tax-free payment of €560 (£490; $600) is to see whether providing a basic income will make the unemployed more eager to go into short-term jobs.
Finland has some 213,000 unemployed, a higher rate than its Nordic neighbours, and a working population of 2,413,000. Short-term contracts here have steadily become a key feature of Finland's labour market.

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