Swiss hit with worst unemployment in years
The unemployment rate shot up in June to 3.6 per cent or 140,253 people, the steepest rise in three years.
According to figures released on Wednesday by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco), 5,125 more people were out of work in June than in May.
Figures comparing June 2009 with June 2008 show more than 48,700 people are now out of work, a rise of 53.3 per cent.
The figures are based on the number of unemployed people registered with Switzerland’s regional employment centres.
As expected, young workers are faring the worst. In June 2009 there were 22,464 unemployed aged 15-24. That is an increase of 5.3 per cent against May figures and a 70.6 per cent leap since June 2008.
In total, the number of registered jobseekers is now just shy of 200,000 people, nearly 6,500 more than last month and 54,444 more than in June 2008. The employment agency says total number of open positions rests at 14,855.
More people are also working reduced hours, figures show. In April 2009, the most recent numbers available, nearly 69,000 people had been affected, a 68 per cent increase over the previous month.
March 2006 was the last time the figures were so bleak, Seco said.
swissinfo.ch and agencies
In compliance with the JTI standards
More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.