Number of people in work rises in Switzerland

The number of people in work has risen in Switzerland Keystone-SDA

The number of people in employment rose in Switzerland in the second quarter.

At the end of June, 5.4 million people were in employment across the country, 0.8% more than a year earlier, the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) said in a press release on Tuesday.

In full-time equivalents (FTEs), the increase was limited to 0.6%. The employment rate for 15- to 64-year-olds fell slightly, from 80% to 79.5%. Converted to FTEs, this rate fell from 67.5% to 67.2%.

Between the first and second quarters, after adjustment for seasonal variations, the number of people in employment rose by 0.5% and the number of FTEs by 0.2%.

The unemployment rate, calculated in accordance with International Labour Organization (ILO) standards, rose from April to June to 4.9%, up from 4.6% a year earlier. This corresponds to 252,000 people, an increase of 15,000 year-on-year.

By way of comparison, the unemployment rate remained at 5.9% in the EU, with variations across neighbouring countries. In Germany, it rose from 3.7% to 3.9%, in France from 7.2% to 7.9% and in Austria from 5.5% to 5.6%, while in Italy it fell from 6.5% to 5.9%.

Quarter-on-quarter, the ILO unemployment rate rose slightly, from 5% to 5.1%.

The unemployment rate calculated by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), meanwhile, stood at 3% in April and May, before falling to 2.9% in June. In July, it rose back to 3%.

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Translated from French, reviewed by an English Department journalist.