Swiss labor market continues to hold up very well in October
Published: Tuesday, Nov 7th 2023, 09:20
Updated At: Wednesday, Nov 8th 2023, 00:53
العودة إلى البث المباشر
The Swiss labor market remained robust in October. There was only a slight increase in unemployment figures and the unemployment rate remained unchanged. A strong trend reversal is also not expected in the future.
At the end of October, 93,563 people were registered as unemployed with the Regional Employment Centers (RAV), as reported by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco) on Tuesday. This was 2737 more than in September. The unemployment rate thus remained at 2.0 percent.
Domestic market continues to hold up well
Although the weaker international economy is slowly leaving its mark, this is primarily in export-oriented sectors such as the MEM industries, said Boris Zürcher, Head of the Labor Directorate at Seco, in a telephone conference. Meanwhile, the domestic market continues to hold up very well. In addition, there has been no significant increase in insolvencies or mass redundancies.
"For October, an unemployment rate of 2.0% is also a very good sign," Zürcher continues. This is because the seasonal turnaround normally occurs by then, peaking in November, December and January. The reason for this is the weather, which results in less work in construction and the tourist catering industry, for example.
A slight increase in unemployment can then also be expected. "However, no structural increase is expected," said Zürcher. Accordingly, the unemployment rate is likely to remain close to 2% for the rest of the year.
Slight increase in unemployment in the coming year
By 2024, the Seco economists expect the unemployment rate to rise slightly to 2.3%. "However, this development will be rather gradual. We are not talking about a fundamental trend reversal here, but rather a normalization," explained Seco economist Zürcher.
So far, we have been spoiled by the strong labor market despite the slowdown in the international economy. "The unemployment rate remains at a historically low level," explains the expert. The shortage of skilled workers continues to dominate, and the slight rise in unemployment may ease the situation somewhat.
Accordingly, short-time work continues to play only a very minor role in the Swiss labor market. In August - the data is reported with a delay - 1023 people were on short-time work, 673 fewer than in the previous month. The number of companies affected fell by 36 to 48 units. According to Zürcher, however, there has been an increase in applications for short-time work since July - although this is generally done as a precaution and does not necessarily lead to short-time work compensation being paid.
©كيستون/إسدا
Arabic 
English 
German 
French 
Spanish