Finland has introduced a salary for the country’s unemployed people in an experiment aiming at dismissing poverty, motivate people to join work force and decrease unemployment.
The Finnish government will randomly select 2,000 unemployed Finns between the age of 25 and 58 to receive an unconditional monthly tax-free basic income of $586 for two years.
The aim of this project is to find ways to reshape the social security system in response to changes in the labour market, according to the website of the Social Insurance Institution or Kela, which manages the project.
Kela says the project also seeks to reduce the bureaucracy and simplify the complicated benefits system,
The scheme, which was launched on January 1, hopes to create an incentive for more Finns to work, since the fear of losing welfare benefits make many citizens act picky about the job they would accept.
Those selected will continue receiving the basic income even if they start working, although at that point they will lose the rest of their unemployment benefit.
Consequently, when a participant gets a job, he or she will receive both the salary and the basic income. And he or she will continue to claim other income-based benefits such as housing or childcare in line with his or her income, like every other citizen.
Elsewhere, the South African government in December set the country’s minimum wage bill at $244, less than half the salary that the unemployed Finns will receive.
