Prime Minister Petteri Orpo's (NCP) government's plans to make cuts to some social security benefits will hit young people on low incomes the hardest, according to the results of a study carried out by the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela).
The agency's calculations found that the planned cuts will have the largest impact on people aged 16-29, and especially those within that demographic who earn low wages.
Their status will be further affected by proposed cuts to housing, unemployment and single parent benefits, Kela noted.
Kela defines a low income young person as anyone in that age bracket whose household income is less than 60 percent of the population's median earnings. For example, the low-income threshold for a one-person household was calculated to be around 1,500 euros per month.
IMF "satisfied" with government plans
The government's plans are part of a packet of austerity measures aimed at reducing Finland's state debt, which stood at 59 percent of the country's GDP in September last year, according to figures provided by the finance ministry.
In a country report released on Tuesday, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said it is "satisfied" with the Finnish government's plans to reduce the national debt.
However, the IMF report noted that stronger political measures would be needed to reduce the level of debt, recommending that the government tighten certain taxes.
The IMF report also said that it expects Finland's gross domestic product (GDP) to grow by 0.5 percent this year.
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