The opposition Centre Party is preparing to submit an interpellation question to parliament over the government’s handling of Finland’s unemployment situation.

A report by Statistics Finland on Tuesday morning revealed that over a quarter of a million people were out of work in Finland last month, the bleakest unemployment figure since 2009.

In a statement released shortly after the latest unemployment figures were published, Centre Party chair Antti Kaikkonen said the government of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (NCP) has repeatedly promised that the unemployment situation will improve.

“This cannot go on. Something needs to be done, otherwise the human and economic cost of unemployment for Finns and Finland will become insurmountably high,” Kaikkonen said.

He added that his party would address the problem by restoring the 300-euro “exemption amount” of unemployment benefits as well as improving the tax credit for household expenses, among other measures.

The government decided to abolish the exemption amount earlier this year, which previously allowed a person to earn up to 300 euros per month without it affecting their unemployment benefits. Now, any casual work reduces the amount they receive.