Unemployment figures dropped slightly in May in comparison with April but were up by 42 per cent over the same period one year earlier.
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The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco) said in a report issued on Monday that the number of people registered at job centres at the end of May was 135,128, or 3.4 per cent of the workforce. This was down by 1,581 from April.
However, the lower figure was the result of seasonal factors and when these were taken into account, the rate was 3.5 per cent, the report said.
According to Seco, the number of people working reduced hours in March increased by 40.4 per cent over February, standing at just over 41,000. The number of businesses that had cut employees’ hours was up by 701 to 2,206.
Experts do not expect the employment situation to improve until the global economy recovers.
swissinfo.ch with agencies
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