Switzerland's number of jobless rises
Switzerland's unemployment rate rose to 4.1 per cent over the second quarter of 2009, bringing the total number of jobless to 182,000.
The provisional findings of the Swiss Labour Force Survey, carried out by the Federal Statistics Office, represent a marked increase from one year earlier, when the rate stood at 3.4 per cent.
Despite the rise, the rate remains low in international comparison. The average unemployment rate in European Union countries rose from 6.8 per cent to 8.8 per cent over the same period.
Underemployment increased at a slower pace. In Switzerland, it affected 6.6 per cent of the economically active population, compared with 6.3 per cent a year earlier.
The survey, published quarterly, takes into account all those actively seeking work, including people who are not registered with regional placement offices.
The most recent monthly jobless figures, published by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, showed 150,831 out of work in August. That figure included only registered jobseekers.
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