Top Finnish Unemployment Fund Clears Benefit Queue Months Early

(Bloomberg) -- Finland’s biggest unemployment fund YTK has now paid benefits to all those laid off temporarily when Covid-19 hit, months before expecting to do so.

YTK received almost 54,000 applications for jobless benefit in the April to July period from people furloughed for a set period, compared with just over 12,000 in the whole of 2019, the Loimaa, Finland-based fund said on Monday. It had in April warned it could take until next year to pay all applicants.

Those who lost their jobs permanently still face wait times of more than a month, said the fund, which doubled the number of its staff and automated more processes to handle the applications. YTK represents about 20% of Finnish wage earners.

Read How YTK in April Warned of a Sudden Surge in Applications

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