Unemployment continues to drop
The number of people out of work in Switzerland continues to fall, although the rate of decline is slowing down compared to previous months. In July, the total jobless figure dropped by 822 persons to 65,140, which is a near ten-year low.
The unemployment rate remains unchanged in July at 1.8 per cent, according to figures released on Tuesday by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs in Berne. The number of job vacancies also dropped by 2,157 to 13,463.
In June, the recovery in the employment market was stronger as the amount of people out of work dropped by 3,826 bringing the unemployment rate down to 65,962, also 1.8 per cent.
The head of the Secretariat’s labour division, Jean-Luc Nordmann, already warned a month ago that that the decline in unemployment would slow down over the coming months.
He said there may even be a slight increase in November and December, citing seasonal factors linked to the reduced activity in the hotel and construction sectors.
The canton of Geneva continued to be the canton most effected by unemployment, with 4.6 per cent of its workforce unemployed. Canton Vaud had the second highest unemployment rate at 2.9 per cent, with canton Tichino’s jobless rate coming in at 2.6 per cent.
The most improvement was seen in canton Valais where the amount of people out of work dropped 0.2 per cent at 1.6 per cent.
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