Number of Swiss residents claiming benefits drops again

The ongoing fall in the number of welfare recipients is due to positive labour market conditions and lower unemployment, the FSO says. Keystone-SDA

A total of 249,700 people claimed some form of welfare in Switzerland in 2023, representing a social assistance rate of 2.8% - a level not seen since 2005.

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This represented a drop of 0.1 percentage points compared to 2022, the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) said on Monday.

“The social assistance rate has reached its lowest value since the introduction of statistics on social assistance recipients in 2005,” it said.

The ongoing downward trend is due to positive labour market conditions in 2023 and lower unemployment, the FSO said.

The highest unemployment rates were observed among young people, foreign nationals and divorcees – the same as in 2022.

From a regional point of view, the rate of social assistance has fallen in 18 cantons – including Neuchâtel, which recorded a marked drop – compared to 2022. On the other hand, the need for greater welfare support rose in Geneva and Vaud.

Translated from French by DeepL/sb

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