HELSINKI (AFP) -- The Finnish unemployment rate stood at 7.2 percent in October, an increase of 0.4 percentage points from the September figure, the national statistics office showed.

When corrected for seasonal variations, the rate was 7.9 percent, the same level as in September.

In the past 12 months, the number of Finnish jobseekers has increased by 0.8 percent to 187,000 people.

The country posted unemployment of 8.4 percent in 2005 and 8.8 percent in 2004.