The Election Statement 1999 For Employment and Entrepreneurship - Finland Needs Action, Not Words Diligence should be rewarded, not penalised Everyone should be able to improve their family's standard of living through their own work. There is something wrong if this does not happen. There is also something wrong when a pay rise, or just obtaining a job, actually lowers a person's standard of living.
Small firms create genuine and permanent jobs.
Their ability to engage staff should be made easier by, for example, easing the taxation of work, reducing employers' red tape and simplifying the terms of employment, through mutually agreed measures to increase labour market flexibility and facilitate the acquisition of risk capital. Unemployment has traditionally been highest in eastern and northern Finland. Their problems can be eased through regional policy that draws on the strengths of the regions themselves. By developing regional centres, prosperity will radiate through the whole region. Also needed are networking, the development of skills and support for marketing efforts.