According to the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) figures published on Tuesday, Switzerland’s labour pool has 830,000 people. This includes 356,000 underemployed individuals, 231,000 unemployed and 243,000 people who are looking for work but not available to start immediately.
The additional volume of work desired by underemployed and unemployed people corresponded to a lack of work of 299,000 full-time equivalents, according to the FSO figures.
Almost half of those underemployed in 2018 (part-time workers who would like to work more and would be available) wanted to increase their working hours by more than ten hours per week. It even exceeded 20 hours per week for more than 20% of these workers.
The underemployment rate is also high in Spain (5.6%), Cyprus (5.4%) and Greece (5.2%). It reaches 3.4% in the European Union (28 countries). In all EU and EFTA countries, with the exception of Romania, the underemployment rate for women is higher than for men.
In Switzerland, the work shortage is significantly worse for women compared to men (the equivalent of 164,000 full-time positions compared to 134,000).
Women make up the bulk of the potential labour pool. They represent 58.9% of “available people, not searching for a job” and 56.7% of “job seekers, not available”.
First large-scale alpine solar plant approved in Switzerland
This content was published on
The approval was met with satisfaction by the project's organisers, but it also brings with it a certain amount of pressure.
Medieval squirrels may have ‘helped spread leprosy’
This content was published on
An examination of squirrel remains in the United Kingdom has opened up interesting questions and possibilities in terms of the history of the disease.
Swiss money laundering office registers record number of reports
This content was published on
The Money Laundering Reporting Office Switzerland (MROS) registered a record number of reports of suspicious activity last year.
Two teens accused of planning terror attack released from custody
This content was published on
The Schaffhausen judiciary has released the two teenagers from custody who allegedly planned bomb attacks in Switzerland.
This content was published on
A national rally in favour of equal pay and against discrimination has taken place in Bern, attracting some 20,000 people, according to organisers.
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.