Working life | Fewer summer jobs are available than last year – except in the construction industry, which is being disciplined by the economic situation

Construction industry at least the difficulties do not yet seem to have been reflected in the available summer jobs.

The job search service Duunitor reports that, for example, there were more open summer jobs in the construction industry in December than the previous year. On the other hand, in other sectors that employ a lot of summer workers, the number of open summer shops had decreased from a year ago.

“We have considered whether the increase in summer jobs in the construction industry could be a way to get short-term and cheap labor”, says Duunitor's communications manager Maiju Karhunen.

Rakennusliitto's contract manager Jarmo Järvinen estimates that the figures may show rental companies that are also looking for labor for the summer.

“That actual job may not yet exist. I think that it might also be reflected in that statistic, that a group of people are being recruited into the reserve for the summer, even if the actual work itself is not known.”

“But of course, there are probably genuine summer jobs in the search, if they are directly for the construction industry,” says Järvinen.

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“Those young people will be our iron professionals in the future.”

Construction industry vocational schools already estimated last year that the current year will be challenging for finding work-based learning places. Järvinen also expects that summer will be a weaker time in this respect than normal, because construction will decrease in the coming spring and summer.

“Yes, housing construction is especially affected by this threshold to be crossed. In other words, on the housing construction side, there will certainly be fewer on-the-job training positions, as well as summer jobs, simply because the amount of work is so much smaller than in previous years.”

In addition, companies have their own employees laid off, which is why many may not dare to hire an intern, even if it might be possible.

“Even though there are layoffs, interns and apprentices can still be used in the construction industry in such a way that they complete their studies. But not everyone is necessarily aware that this can work,” says Järvinen.

He estimates that the worst situation is in those cities where there is really little housing construction. On the other hand, at least in the capital region, Turku and Tampere, construction continues.

“Perhaps there are still some on-the-job learning and summer jobs in the Oulu region. Then there are really quiet areas in Central Finland and Eastern Finland.”

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“It's worth using your own networks and, on the other hand, also the power of social media.”

Dununitor the data show that the most summer jobs are currently available in industry, commerce, social services, restaurants and construction. These sectors have also been major employers in previous years.

In November, the service had approximately 39 percent fewer summer job advertisements than a year earlier. In December, the situation started to pick up a bit, although even then there were about 18 percent fewer notifications than in December 2022.

“If we check the situation at the beginning of January, we at Duunitor have had slightly fewer summer job advertisements than at the same time last year. Of course, it is still too early to draw bigger conclusions about the direction in which the situation will develop,” says Karhunen.

“Compared to the record summer work years of 2023 and 2022, the situation does not look as bright at the moment.”

However, he emphasizes that the summer work period will continue until the summer. For example, last summer there were places open even from the beginning of summer. Still, the uncertainty of the economic situation is also visible on the summer work front.

“It is entirely possible that employers will move summer job recruitment closer to the summer, when in previous years there has been a more lively search for employees even before Christmas. It is also possible that employers in general will recruit less than in previous years,” Karhunen continues.

The greater part Some of the open summer jobs at Duunitori are intended for adults. More than 5,400 summer job advertisements were open on Monday, but only a good hundred of them were suitable for people under the age of 18.

“This has been the case in previous years as well. Of course, it's a shame in the sense that these younger ones, i.e. those under 18, are especially eager to get summer jobs. But it's good to keep in mind that younger and more inexperienced players usually have more opportunities in the spring,” says Karhunen.

He advises young people that you should be open-minded when you're out and about and that you should apply for summer jobs in different fields. When applying, your own enthusiasm and motivation are emphasized.

“It's worth using your own networks and, on the other hand, also the power of social media.”

Rakennusliito's Järvinen also says that many companies only take adults to their sites. However, other than industry students are also hired for summer jobs.

“While traveling there, I've noticed that quite often there is some contact in the construction industry, a relative or a parent working there, through which a summer job can be found,” says Järvinen.

Summer workers for companies applying, Duunitor's Karhunen advises that it would be worthwhile to target young people on social media as well, such as Tiktok.

“It's clear that the majority of young people still turn to job search websites, but they also make a lot of use of Google and social media. The importance of social media is emphasized year by year, and it is definitely worth investing in it.”

Social media can be used to create an image of the employer, but for that it is also important to m
anage the summer recruit properly. Knowledge of good experiences can spread even further and also affect how future recruits perform.

“Those young people will be our iron professionals in the future”, Karhunen reminds.