Commerce is by far the largest employer of young summer workers in the economy
Commerce employs tens of thousands of summer workers every summer. Commerce companies often give young people their first experience of working life, and many have come into the sector through summer jobs. Commerce is the largest employer in the economy and also the largest employer of young people.
The commerce sector will once again employ a huge number of young summer workers this summer. Commerce is the largest employer of young people; over one fifth of all workers under the age of 25 are employed in the commerce sector. Commerce is by far the largest employer of young people in the economy in the summer, too.
“It is important that commerce can offer young people their first contact with working life, and many people have been enthusiastic about the sector through their summer jobs. This summer, employers will once again have a great opportunity to show young people that commerce is a truly diverse workplace,” says Anna Lavikkala, Labour Market Director at the Finnish Commerce Federation.
According to the membership data collected by the Confederation of Finnish Industries, the commerce sector employed nearly 34,500 summer workers in 2023, which was a good quarter of all summer jobs offered by the economy. This number is expected to fall slightly next summer due to general economic uncertainty, but commerce companies are still estimated to employ 32,000−33,000 summer workers.
Commerce offers summer employees a wide range of tasks, such as sales and cashier work, customer service, shelving, organisation, unloading, coordinating deliveries of goods, assisting with sales campaigns, and so on.
Commerce is the largest employer in the economy
Overall, the commerce sector employs around 282,000 people in Finland, making it the largest employer in the private sector in Finland. According to recent statistics, roughly equal numbers of women (47 per cent) and men (53 per cent) work in the commerce sector.
In 2023, the commerce sector employed almost 51,000 people under the age of 25 in Finland. The second largest employer of young people in the economy was the accommodation and catering business with around 27,000 employees, and the third largest was industry with 26,500 employees.
In recent years, the commerce sector has focused particularly on employing young school-aged people. The Earn as You Learn trainee programme for people over the age of fourteen is now part of the commerce sector collective agreement. The trainee programme offers young people the opportunity to work for two weeks in the commercial sector under certain conditions.
“A ready agreement makes it easier for commerce companies to employ schoolgoers. We want to offer schoolgoers suitable practical work, as well as experience of the operations and jobs in the commerce sector and a view of possible career paths,” Lavikkala says.
The grocery stores K Group, S Group and Lidl report that the Earn as You Learn trainee programme is a popular way for young people to find a job in the commerce sector. Last year, K-retailers employed around 1,000 trainees, and there were 100 trainees at Kesko. S Group employed around 8,000 trainees, and Lidl around 400. This summer, S Group will offer more than 9,000 traineeships, and Lidl will offer around 800.
In addition to the grocery trade, there are plenty of summer jobs in the specialty goods trade, technical trade and car business.
For further information, please contact:
Heidi Lauttamäki, Economist, Finnish Commerce Federation, tel. +358 (0)50 565 0790, heidi.lauttamaki(at)kauppa.fi
Anna Lavikkala, Labour Market Director, Finnish Commerce Federation, tel. +358 (0)40 040 6088, anna.lavikkala(at)kauppa.fi
