Editing Espoo (section)

== Economy ==
=== Economical history ===
[[File:Punainen talo.jpg|thumb|right|In addition to fields, many buildings remain of rural Espoo, such as the Punainen tupa ("red house") in [[Henttaa]].]]
[[File:Fortumin tornitalo 230609.jpg|thumb|right|Office buildings in [[Keilaniemi]]]]
[[File:Isoomenasisältä.jpg|thumb|right|The shopping centre [[Iso Omena]], opened in 2001, is located in [[Matinkylä]] near the sea shore.]]
[[File:Suomenoja power plant 2014.jpg|thumb|right|The Suomenoja power plant]]
Still in the middle 19th century, Espoo was a rural community living in subsistence economy. There was hardly any industry, the villages were small and situated evenly across different parts of the parish. There was some population concentration at the location of the current district of [[Espoon keskus]] and along the Suuri Rantatie road, and some dense population on the shore of the [[Gulf of Finland]]. In 1865 farming was the primary source of income for about 90% of the men in Espoo. There were about seventy craftsmen and about twenty people working in the industry. Of the women in Espoo, over one fifth worked as maids.<ref name="ikkala">Ikkala, Marja-Leena: ''Kylästä lähiöön (Espoo-sarja)''. City of Espoo 1989. {{ISBN|951-857-124-4}}.</ref>{{rp|48}}

The economical history of 19th-century Espoo also includes some small-scale [[mining]] activity. There was [[ore]] mining at the lands of the Kilo mansion around 1840, and this activity continued to the 1850s. The ore was of good quality but poor, and the ore streaks were fragmentary. In the end, the amount of ore mined from Kilo was very small.<ref name="härö"/>{{rp|108}} A new discovery of ore was made at the lands of the Alberga manor in the early 1840s. At most seven people worked at the site, but the amount of ore mined in Alberga ended up very small as well. The mining activity slowly waned and stopped completely in 1851.<ref name="härö"/>{{rp|116}}

The Espoo parish was not a neighbour of the city of Helsinki in the 19th century – there were lands of the [[Vantaa|Helsinki parish]] in between. The rapid growth of Helsinki attracted people from Espoo: despite the short distance, travel between Espoo and Helsinki was so slow, that moving into Helsinki was almost unavoidable if one happened to get a job there.<ref name="ikkala"/>{{rp|49}}

The rapid growth of Helsinki started also showing outside the administrative borders of the city. The first industrial area in Espoo was born near the shore of the Espoonlahti bay. In the late 19th century there were three brick factories and a steam-powered sawmill in the area. Clay from the Espoonlahti bay was well suited for making bricks, and the bricks were easy to transport to Helsinki over sea. For example, the [[Uspenski Cathedral]] in [[Katajanokka]] has been built from bricks from the Stensvik brick factory. The village of Mulby (Muulo in Finnish) became the industrial centre of Espoo, and its population grew manifold. Other villages in southwestern Espoo also grew through the industry. When the [[Rantarata]] railway was completed in the early 20th century part of the industry moved to the railway track, and the railway also enabled people to commute for work from Espoo to Helsinki.<ref name="ikkala"/>{{rp|49, 58}}<ref name="taskutilasto">[https://web.archive.org/web/20200919193848/https://www.espoo.fi/download/noname/%7B70281CC5-21A0-475E-BADB-132E88C4BD2A%7D/89512 Espoon kaupungin taskutilasto 2017], city of Espoo. Accessed on 13 November 2017.</ref>{{rp|7}}

There was also glass industry in Espoo. Pehr Appelgrén founded a bottle glass factory near the Espoo railway station in 1912. The factory closed down in 1922. The Kauklahti glass factory started in 1923, and by the 1930s it was the largest illumination glass factory in Finland. The factory closed down in 1951. Glass industry in Espoo altogether waned in the 1950s.<ref name="ikkala"/>{{rp|59, 60}}

By the late 1930s, there were about thirty businesses in Espoo. In addition to glass and brick industry, the parish included machinery workshops, sawmills and metallurgy workshops. There was industrial clothing manufacturing in [[Kauklahti]] and a clock factory in [[Viherlaakso]]. The steam-powered sawmill in Bastvik, founded in 1876, was economically quite stable; its saw equipment was moved to the [[Hanko Peninsula]] in the 20th century.<ref name="ikkala"/>{{rp|58–61}} The merchant F. F. Sjöblom founded the first shop in Espoo in Stensvik soon after founding of shops had been liberated in 1868. At the time when Finland became independent, there were about 40 shops in Espoo, most of them general stores.<ref name="ikkala"/>{{rp|62}}

Despite the increase in industry and service jobs, Espoo was still a predominantly rural parish in 1920. About two thirds of the population got their primary income from farming.<ref name="ikkala"/>{{rp|53}} [[Rye]] and [[barley]] had been the primary crops in Espoo for centuries. By the 20th century the significance of cattle herding increased, and the farming of [[oats]] became more popular.<ref name="ikkala"/>{{rp|32, 55}}

Construction and services became the basis of the economy in Espoo in the 1950s, when the rapid growth in population in Espoo started. In the 2010s, the primary industries counting by number of jobs are trade, accommodation and food and beverage industry as well as specialist services. The proportion of information and communications technology is about one tenth. About one sixth of the jobs are in industry and construction. The public sector is large: about one quarter of jobs were in the public sector in the middle 2010s.<ref name="taskutilasto"/>{{rp|17}}

The transition from a medieval rural parish into an integral part of the Helsinki metropolitan area has dropped the proportion of farming and forestry jobs to about a fifth of a percent.<ref name="taskutilasto"/>{{rp|17}}

=== Companies ===
Espoo is home to the head offices of several global companies and many high technology companies. The [[Aalto University]] campus in southeastern Espoo is at the heart of research and development.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20201203042637/https://www.espoo.fi/fi-FI/Espoon_kaupunki/Tietoa_Espoosta Tietoa Espoosta], city of Espoo. Accessed on 14 November 2017.</ref> The head offices of [[Nokia]], [[Valmet]], [[Remedy Entertainment]], [[Fortum]], [[Neste]], [[Huhtamäki]], [[Metsä Group]], [[Orion Corporation (pharmaceutical company)|Orion Corporation]], [[Oriola (company)|Oriola]], [[Outotec]] and [[LähiTapiola]] are located in Espoo.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Yhteystiedot {{!}} Nokia |url=https://www.nokia.com/fi_fi/yhteystiedot |access-date=5 February 2023 |website=[[Nokia Corporation]] |language=fi |archive-date=5 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230205020100/https://www.nokia.com/fi_fi/yhteystiedot/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=About Valmet |url=https://www.valmet.com/about-us/ |access-date=2024-06-20 |website=www.valmet.com |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Kauppalehti: demoscene">{{cite web |url=https://www.kauppalehti.fi/uutiset/nain-myohastymisistaan-tunnettu-remedy-nousi-demoskenesta-helsingin-porssiin/ezedHB5U |title=Näin myöhästymisistään tunnettu Remedy nousi demoskenestä Helsingin pörssiin |trans-title=Known for its delays, Remedy rises from the demoscene to the Helsinki Stock Exchange |language=fi |first=Elina |last=Lappalainen |date=27 April 2017 |website=[[Kauppalehti]] |access-date=6 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180805142845/https://www.kauppalehti.fi/uutiset/nain-myohastymisistaan-tunnettu-remedy-nousi-demoskenesta-helsingin-porssiin/ezedHB5U |archive-date=5 August 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.fortum.com/fi/konserni/yhteystiedot/pages/default.aspx | title=Ota yhteyttä Fortumiin }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.huhtamaki.com/fi/yhteystiedot/toimipisteet |title=Yhteystiedot – Toimipisteet – Huhtamaki Group  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171021052637/http://www.huhtamaki.com/fi/yhteystiedot/toimipisteet |archive-date=21 October 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.metsagroup.com/fi/ota-yhteytta/Pages/default.aspx | title=Ota yhteyttä &#124; Metsä Group | access-date=13 September 2022 | archive-date=17 May 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220517074150/https://www.metsagroup.com/fi/ota-yhteytta/Pages/default.aspx | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.orion.fi/konserni/orion-yrityksena/ | title=Orion yrityksenä | access-date=13 September 2022 | archive-date=13 September 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220913201037/https://www.orion.fi/konserni/orion-yrityksena/ | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.oriola.com/fi/tietoa-meista/yhteystiedot/ | title=Yhteystiedot | access-date=13 September 2022 | archive-date=7 May 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210507003050/https://www.oriola.com/fi/tietoa-meista/yhteystiedot/ | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.outotec.com/contacts/contact-information/locations/ | title=Contact | access-date=13 September 2022 | archive-date=4 December 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171204105511/http://www.outotec.com/contacts/contact-information/locations | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.lahitapiola.fi/tietoa-lahitapiolasta/lahitapiola-ryhma/yhtioryhmatietoa/ryhman-rakenne-ja-johto | title=Ryhmän rakenne ja johto &#124; LähiTapiola | access-date=13 September 2022 | archive-date=6 July 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220706043335/https://www.lahitapiola.fi/tietoa-lahitapiolasta/lahitapiola-ryhma/yhtioryhmatietoa/ryhman-rakenne-ja-johto | url-status=live }}</ref> Among government enterprises, [[VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland]], [[Gasum]], Neste and Fortum are headquartered in Espoo. Due to the presence of these companies, particularly Nokia, Espoo alone accounts for 60% of patents filed in Finland and ranks #6 among European cities in number of patents filed.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.enterespoo.fi/news/espoo-ranks-sixth-patent-applications-europe-patent-index-2023 |title=Archived copy |access-date=12 September 2024 |archive-date=12 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240912195844/https://www.enterespoo.fi/news/espoo-ranks-sixth-patent-applications-europe-patent-index-2023 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The largest shopping centres in Espoo are [[Iso Omena]], [[Sello]], [[Lippulaiva]], [[Entresse]] and [[Ainoa (shopping centre)|Ainoa]]. Along the continuous traffic route formed by [[Merituulentie]] to the north of [[Länsiväylä]], Kuitinmäentie and Martinsillantie are located the shopping centre [[Niitty]], Länsikeskus, the retail park [[Merituuli]], the shopping centre [[Liila]] as well as several leisure, indoor decoration and automobile businesses. The small shopping centre [[Suuris]], opened in 2017, is located in [[Suurpelto]] along [[Ring II]].

Industrial areas in Espoo include Juvanmalmi, Karamalmi and Kivenlahti.

=== City of Espoo ===
The city of Espoo funds its services mainly by taxation. In 2021 the tax income of the city, consisting of the municipal tax, the communal tax and the property tax, amounted to 1,711 million euro,<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20210117101314/https://veronsaajat.vero.fi/fi-FI/Home/PBI Raportit : Kausitilitykset : Kunnat : Valittu kunta : Espoon kaupunki], Finnish tax bureau. Accessed on 13 January 2022.</ref> with the municipal tax rate being 18.00 percent.<ref name="talous">[https://issuu.com/espoonkaupunki/docs/talouskertomus_2016 Talous 2016] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220913202216/https://issuu.com/espoonkaupunki/docs/talouskertomus_2016 |date=13 September 2022 }}, city of Espoo. Accessed on 16 November 2017.</ref> By number of employees, the city of Espoo is the biggest employer in Espoo: in 2016 it employed about 14 thousand people.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.espoo.fi/fi-FI/Tyo_ja_yrittaminen | title=Espoo.fi > Työ ja yrittäminen | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171212125051/http://www.espoo.fi/fi-FI/Tyo_ja_yrittaminen | archive-date=12 December 2017 }}</ref>

The economy in Espoo leaves a surplus, but this is not enough to finance the investments of the growing city.<ref name="talous"/>

Espoo has signed the principles of responsible investment of the [[United Nations]]. The city of Espoo has five investment funds: the basic services and land acquisition fund, the development fund of basic services, the development fund of entrepreneurship and employment, the investment fund and the accident fund.<ref name="talous"/>

A characteristic feature of Espoo is that the city manages its investments through its daughter companies.<ref name="talous"/>

=== Income level ===
The average income level in Espoo is higher than that in the rest of the capital region and particularly higher than that in the rest of Finland. In 2015, the taxable income in Espoo was 40% higher than in the rest of Finland. The unemployment rate in Espoo is high, but still lower than the average in Finland.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20200919193848/https://www.espoo.fi/download/noname/%7B70281CC5-21A0-475E-BADB-132E88C4BD2A%7D/89512 Espoon kaupungin taskutilasto 2017], pp. 15–16, city of Espoo. Accessed on 13 November 2017.</ref> The highest-income areas in Espoo, such as [[Westend, Espoo|Westend]] and [[Haukilahti]], are mainly located on the coast. These districts are part of the Tapiola major district, whose income level is significantly higher than the average in Espoo. The income level in the Matinkylä and Espoonlahti major districts is near the average in Espoo. The income level in the Leppävaara major district and particularly in the Vanha-Espoo major district is lower than the average in Espoo.<ref name="aluesarjat2017">[https://web.archive.org/web/20161007080816/http://www.aluesarjat.fi/?bmark=..%2FDATABASE%2FALUESARJAT_KAUPUNKIVERKKO%2FTULOTASO%2FASUNTOKUNTIEN%2A%3BTULOT%2FB03ESP_Ginikertoimet&lang=FI&qr=Alue%3A%22Tieto%3A%22Vuosi%3A&case=db Helsingin seudun aluesarjat], Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa, Helsinki Region Environmental Services and Helsinki-Uusimaa Regional Council. Accessed on 14 November 2017.</ref>

The city of Espoo is not particularly segregated by major districts, instead the differences in income are significantly higher within the major districts as between them. In low-come major districts the average income level is near the average in Helsinki. In some areas, such as in [[Kivenlahti]] and [[Suvela]], it even falls below the average in Vantaa. Areas consisting of detached houses generally have higher income levels than areas consisting of apartment buildings.<ref name="aluesarjat2017"/>