Health and social care, Hotels and restaurants, Trade and Education are the most common industries in which upper secondary students worked. In 2019, Hotels and restaurants was the most common industry in which women worked while studying at upper secondary level. Men worked mainly in Health and social care.

Fewer students worked during the COVID-19 pandemic

The proportion of upper secondary students who worked at some time during the year declined by 13 percent between 2019 and 2020. This decline was larger during the summer and amounted to 19 percent in August. These changes can most likely be attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact on the labour market due to restrictions.

The proportion of students working while studying varies between the different upper secondary programmes. The proportion of students who worked at some time in 2019 among those studying in a higher education preparatory programme and those studying in a vocational programme was roughly the same. The proportion of those who worked at some time during the year was lowest among those studying in an introductory programme.

Among students in a vocational programme, working was most common among those studying in the Health and Social Care Programme, the Hotel and Tourism Programme, the Industrial Technology Programme, and the Building and Construction Programme. Among students in a higher education preparatory programme, working at some time during the year was most common among those studying in the Business Management and Economics Programme and the Social Science Programme.

A more detailed presentation of the results is available in the report Work during upper secondary school 2019–2020