Finnish unemployment rose to the highest in six months at the end of last year, increasing more than economists estimated, as Europe's debt crisis sapped economic growth in the northernmost euro member.

The jobless rate, which isn't adjusted for seasonal variations, rose to 7.4 per cent in December from 6.2 per cent in November, Statistics Finland said today.

The rate topped all four economist estimates in a survey by Bloomberg. Finland's economic growth is slowing as the European debt crisis weighs on exports, which make up 40 percent of the AAA rated nation's economy.

The Finance Ministry and the central bank both forecast 0.4 per cent growth for this year.

Unemployment was below the 7.9 per cent reached in December a year ago. The seasonally adjusted trend of the unemployment rate was 7.5 per cent last month.

Bloomberg