Työttömyysvakuutusrahasto - Half Year financial report

Unemployment Insurance Fund's Interim Report January 1 - June 30 2017

Unemployment Insurance Fund's Interim Report January 1 - June 30 2017

The result continued to improve


Unemployment Insurance Fund     Stock Exchange Release     29 August 2017
at 12:00 a.m.


This release is a summary of Unemployment Insurance Fund's (TVR) Interim Report
January - June 2017. The Interim Report in its entirety is attached to this
release and available on the Unemployment Insurance Fund's website at
https://tvr.fi/en/investors/financial-facts/interim-reports/

· Unemployment insurance contributions and other income in total EUR 2,071
(2,070) million
· Unemployment benefits paid and administrative expenses in total EUR 1,835
(2,037) million
· Change in net position (half-year) EUR 233 (31) million
· Net position EUR -232 million (31 Dec. 2016: -466)
· Investments and assets in total EUR 1,129 million (31 Dec. 2016: 704)
· Raised debt and other liabilities in total EUR 1,360 million (31 Dec.
2016: 1,170)
· Unemployment rate 8.9% in June 2017 (June 2016: 9.3%)
· Return on investments 0.1% (0.2%)

Managing Director Janne Metsämäki:

Financial development at TVR has been more positive than anticipated during the
first half of 2017. Finland's economic outlook has clearly improved this year.
Growth is expected to continue in 2018 and 2019, but at a lower rate than in
2017. The number of unemployed jobseekers has fallen markedly.

The maximum level of the Fund's business cycle buffer has been temporarily
raised from the amount of annual expenses corresponding to an unemployment rate
of 5% to 7% in line with the Competitiveness Pact concluded by the labour market
confederations in June 2016. The employer's average unemployment insurance
contribution and the employee's unem-ployment insurance contribution will be
equal in size as of 1 January 2018. As a result, the composition of TVR's
governing bodies will change as of the same date.

TVR has been preparing for the implementation of the national income register on
1 January 2019.

Operational environment of the Unemployment Insurance Fund

On 21 March 2017, TVR issued a stock exchange release on improved economic
outlook. It forecast that the number of unemployed jobseekers would diminish by
3-4 per cent and the full-year result would be plus EUR 200-300 million, while
the budget approved on 25 August 2016 predicted a full-year result of EUR 73
million.

The total unemployment insurance contribution rate for 2017 will remain
unchanged from the previous year, i.e. at four per cent of the payroll. During
the period under review, the amount of collected contributions increased by four
per cent from a year earlier. Meanwhile, unemployment benefit payments fell by
ten per cent. The result at the end of the review period was EUR 233 million,
which represents an improvement of EUR 202 million from a year earlier.

Events after the review period and outlook for the second half of 2017

Based on the information published by Statistics Finland, the unemployment rate
in June 2017 was 8.9%, which is 0.5 per-centage points lower than a year
earlier. According to information published by the Ministry of Employment and
the Economy, the number of unemployed persons in June 2017 was 46,000 lower than
a year earlier.

In August 2017, TVR estimates that the number of unemployed jobseekers will
continue to decrease during the second half of 2017. Furthermore, TVR estimates
that its result for the financial year 2017 will show a surplus of slightly over
EUR 400 million and that its net position on 31 December 2017 will be close to
zero.

Labour Market Confederations proposed to the government in June 2017, that
Unemployment Insurance Fund and Education Fund should merge their operations.
The proposed merger is a result of negotiation which is to be dealt with by
decision-making bodies of Labour Market Confederations. The merger would take
place at the earliest in the beginning of 2019.

Helsinki, 29 August 2017

Unemployment Insurance Fund
Board of Directors

Additional information:

Janne Metsämäki, Managing Director. tel. +358 40 522 3614
Tapio Oksanen, Deputy Managing Director, CFO tel. +358 40 539 4651

Distribution:
NASDAQ OMX Helsinki
Media
www.tvr.fi




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Liitteet:

TVR Interim Report 2017.pdf