New gold rush, self-driving buses and real-people jobs

Automation can replace many jobs in the chocolate making industry, but not all. © KEYSTONE / GAETAN BALLY

Almost every article published by swissinfo.ch contains a percentage, an age, an amount of money or some other figure. Here’s a round-up of the most interesting statistics to appear in the past week’s stories.

Monday

100

Swiss miners said the new ‘gold rush’ would take them to Sweden. The cryptocurrency specialist, Alpine Mining, announced it wanted to set up a crypto mining farm in the Scandinavian nation to build its capacity for creating tokens to a 100-megawatt operation.

Tuesday

26 million

The canton of Geneva is set to test a system of self-driving public buses as part of an international project. It’s being financed to the tune of CHF26 million, the lion’s share from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 funding programme.

Wednesday

5 million

That’s how many francs the government is contributing to fight radicalisation. The authorities want to raise awareness and provide counselling. It’s part of a three-pronged approach to combating violent extremism. Since 2001, there have been 91 cases of people going abroad to engage in “jihad”.

Thursday

2.0

Digitalisation will create more jobs than it dismantles, the international recruitment company Manpower said in its study, “Skills Revolution 2.0”. Indeed, nine out of ten Swiss employers said they would either maintain current staff levels or be hiring more over the next couple of years.

Friday

12,000

About 1,500 Eritreans demonstrated in the Swiss capital, Bern, where they handed a petition of 12,000 signatures to Justice Minister Simonetta Sommaruga, calling for a more humane asylum policy.