Health Care and Social Welfare Personnel 2023
Statistical Report Health care and social welfare personnel 2023 was published in Finnish on the 18th of December 2025. The database reports are already updated with the 2023 data.
Growth in Social Care Workforce in the Business Sector
This represents an increase of 1.7% (around 6,340 employees) compared to 2022 and 8.8% (around 30,000 employees) compared to 2018. Of the total workforce, 49.5% were employed in health care, 49.1% in social care, and 1.3% through staffing agencies.*
In terms of sectoral distribution, 61.7% of the workforce was employed in the public sector, 31.8% in the business sector, and 6.5% in the nonprofit sector.
The most notable growth occurred in the business sector. In 2023, approximately 118,500 employees worked in the business sector, compared to 111,800 in 2022—an increase of 6.1%. Over the same period, employment in the public sector rose slightly from 228,500 to 229,800 (0.6%), while employment in the nonprofit sector declined from 26,000 to 24,300 (-6.5%).
The number of social and health professionals working primarily through staffing agencies also increased. In 2023, there were approximately 4,900 professionals employed via temporary agency work, compared to 4,780 in 2022—an increase of 2.5%.
*Note: The statistics include one employment relationship per individual, classified by Statistics Finland as the person’s main employment relationship based on activity during the final week of the year. The main employment relationship may also be temporary or short-term. Secondary employment relationships are excluded from these statistics.
Download the full statistical report
Tables
Background information
- Terms and Definitions (in Finnish)
- Quality description (FOS) (in Finnish)
- Privacy notice for data subjects (in Finnish)
- Previous statistical report (2022)
Statistical Description
The Health Care and Social Welfare Personnel Statistics describe, as of the last day of the year, individuals permanently residing in Finland who primarily work in social and health services or hold social and health care occupational titles in the private, public, or nonprofit sectors in Finland. The statistics also include individuals trained in the social and health care field, as well as those granted professional practice rights by Valvira, provided they have a registered address in Finland on the last day of the year.
The data are derived from Statistics Finland’s Employment Statistics and refined by linking them with Valvira’s professional registers. Valvira’s data provide information on professional practice rights in health and social care, related qualifications, and registered holders of such rights.
This statistic is part of the reporting by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) on health and social services personnel. Additional information on personnel in social and health services provided by wellbeing services counties, joint municipal authorities, and municipalities is available in the Public Sector Social and Health Services Personnel Statistics.
Source
Terveys- ja sosiaalipalvelujen henkilöstö 2023
Personalen inom hälso- coh socialvården 2023
Health care and social welfare personnel 2023
Tilastoraportti 62/2025, 18.12.2025. THL
More information
SOTE-henkilostotiedot(at)thl.fi
Essi Karvonen
Tel. 0295248475
Sanna Palmgren
Tel. 0295248210
