Unemployment rate drops to seven-year low
The unemployment rate in Switzerland dropped to 2.4 percent in August, the lowest such figure since 1992.
The unemployment rate in Switzerland dropped to 2.4 percent in August, the lowest such figure since 1992.
The latest figures released by the State Secretariat in the Economics Ministry showed that 87,487 people were registered as out of work in August, the last month for which official data is available.
The secretariat said that the drop in unemployment was due mainly to the improving overall performance of the Swiss economy.
Seasonal job fluctuations in the construction and hotel industry also contributed to more people finding work again, a government spokesman said.
Sixteen out of the 26 Swiss cantons saw unemployment figures drop in August, with French-speaking cantons Vaud, Neuchatel and Jura as well as Italian-language canton Ticino seeing the most pronounced drop.
Long-term unemployment stood at 26.1 percent in August.
A recent report on long-term unemployment commissioned by the state secretariat called on cantons to pursue a more active re-integration policy for those out of work.
From staff and wire reports.
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