Finland has been giving 2,000 of its citizens an unconditional¹ income for the last five months and some are already seeing the benefits, reporting decreased stress, greater incentives² to find work and more time to pursue business ideas.

 

芬兰在过去五个月让2000位公民获得无条件收入，其中一些人已经感受到了这一福利的好处，他们报告说自己的压力减轻，找工作的动力更足，也有更多时间去实践商业构想。

 

The scheme is the first of its kind in Europe and sees participants receive €560 every month for two years.

 

Recipients³ do not have to demonstrate that they are seeking employment and they are not required to regularly report to authorities to prove they still need the payment, as is the case with standard unemployment benefits. They can spend the money however they like.

 

Under the pilot, if a participant finds work, they will continue to receive the stipend⁴, removing one of the limitations of current welfare systems - the disincentive to find work.

 

The trial is one measure introduced by the centre-right government to tackle Finland's unemployment problem.

 

The union, which represents almost 1 million members, or a fifth of the Finnish population, said the model being tested is, “impossibly expensive, since it would increase the government deficit⁵ by about 5 percent” of gross domestic product.

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